When Day Breaks
by x white x rabbit x
Summary: Edward and Bella have adopted a daughter into the family, Claire. She is everything a parent could want except her choice in a possible boyfriend. SEQUEL TO TWISTS OF FATE! PLEASE READ THAT ONE FIRST!
1. Meet Claire

**A/N: Alright, this is going to be form the POV of the daughter of Edward and Bella, no they didn't have a child naturally, the Cullens found her dying on the streets during Ed and Bell'a honeymoon in Europe and changed her to save her. Edward and Bella adopted her as a daughter. She has the most peculiar of all the gifts due to a rare trait in her blood. There are strange organisms living inside of her that give her powers over the element of light. It's weird, I know, but just go along with it. She also developed the ability to read minds, but not very well. She can read minds, but it's quiet and sort of staticy. She is considered more beautiful than Rosalie and faster than Edward. She's sixteen or seventeen (they never really find out her age), and very rebellious…**

**Also, know that they had to wait like 20 years to send her to school so no one from Twilight is there except the children of the original characters.**

**Now, as for the guy, you should know he looks identical to Dougie Poynter of McFLY. If you like them, you know exactly whom I am talking about. Of course, this looks like him after he bleached his hair, don't worry. And, sorry girls, he doesn't have the tattoo…and he's not 19, only 17**

**Disclaimer: Twilight The Creation of Stephenie Meyer. Everything you recognize is hers, not mine. Things you don't recognize, **

"Claire!" called my mother from down the stairs.

"I'm coming, I'm coming," I said, pulling on the pair of skin-tight jeans I rarely ever wore in public and slipping on my Vans, tucking the laces inside the shoe, and ran out the door of my room, my mother's old room.

"Claire Rebekah Cullen!" I mother cried, using my full name for once.

"Jeeze, Bella, I'm right here," I said, almost running into her.

"Oh, sorry, hun," she apologized, tossing my messenger bag to me as I caught it with ease. "Edward's working late tonight at the hospital with Carlisle, so, it'll be just you and me tonight. Want to do anything special?"

"Not really," I sighed, eager to get out the door and to school on time for once.

"Alright. Call me if you get hungry, okay?"

"Sure thing, mom," I said with another unnecessary sigh as I walked out the door. I knew that at sixteen I shouldn't be driving yet all that much. I knew I had no license…not after that last speeding ticket at least, but I was a better driver than my mother at times. We may both be vampires, but she didn't learn to drive from a person like my father, who had bought me a car as soon as I was brought into their family. Of course, I was never much of a car person myself, and so my father had returned the car for what I really wanted. I hit the alarm button on the remote and the blue Ducati motorcycle beeped once as a signal that the alarm was off. My mother believed it necessary for me to wear a helmet and so I obliged to make her happy. I slid into my jacket and pulled the helmet on and revved the engine after putting the key into the ignition.

Being on the bike was like flying, nothing could or would ever stop me, ever. As soon as I pulled into the parking lot, I regretted driving so fast. I had heard earlier that new meat would be arriving soon, and I use meat not because of what I am, but because it was term humans used loosely. I parked the bike and leapt off, pulling the helmet off of my head and shaking my platinum blonde hair out. I had only been a vampire now for about ten years, and it was already growing tiresome, not the diet, but the monotony of it all. They said they couldn't send me to school until now because it would look odd because Edward and Bella having a child that was sixteen start school two years after they got out would be a bit conspicuous. Well, my mother never got out of school, she had to fake her death when she was changed. After that, her father tried to get along with his life, but moved down to Phoenix to be with the only remnant of family he had left, Bella's mother.

He lived there for a few years before passing away. Renee went quickly after him, and then Bella bought her father's old house under the name of Isabella Cullen, seeing as they were married now.

"Hey Claire," called a friend of mine, Morgan. I waved back to her, knowing she would start gushing out the latest gossip of the school from the week I had missed. Edward and Bella had taken me on a hunting trip for the week seeing as I was still getting a bit used to their diet and way of life.

"I heard that there's a new kid!" she gushed.

"Really?" I asked her, not really paying all that much attention. When entered the building, a few of the boys stopping to glance my way. How pathetic some human boys could be at times. I knew their thoughts as soon as I saw them, of course they were thinking only of one thing. I was a slender and curvy girl, and they always had the same thing on their minds. Ha! What a laughable thing indeed, if only they knew how easily I could overpower them. No, I didn't read their minds, which I was capable of to an extent, but it wasn't hard to figure out their intentions.

I couldn't remember anything from my human life, only that I was found in England while my parents were on their honeymoon. I never asked my adopted parents how they found me, where they found me, and what had happened to make my father act. I knew for a fact that one had to be dying for them to choose to save someone. I didn't give it much thought…but maybe I should have. I also knew I had been named for a good friend of the family that they never saw anymore, the woman who had made my mother a vampire. It was a pretty name, but nothing out of the ordinary. Because I could never remember my real name, they picked one out and I approved, liking it a lot. Of course, I hated how ritzy it sounded, so I asked the first and middle name be switched. They agreed, seeing as I liked the name Claire a lot.

Another thing that was interesting was that Carlisle finally figured out that piercing stayed with me. See, apparently I was found with a stud in my nose on the left nostril. The hole stayed when I was changed, and now the hole I permanent but I can take the ring out and the hole is barely noticeable. The teachers in Forks really don't care much, but my mother does, always insisting I take it out for school and special occasions.

With a short sigh, I grabbed my bag and unraveled it from my body. It landed in a heap next to me while I undid the lock of my locker. With another sigh, I opened it and threw all of my books inside and grabbed what I needed for first-period.

Forks high school hadn't changed one bit form when my parents went to school. Every class was still in a different building; everyone still wore raincoats walking across the parking lots. The only thing that changed really were the teachers, either they got older or got replaced because they were too old.

I walked slowly to class, well slowly for me, and made it in just a few seconds before the bell sounded in my ears. With another long-winded sigh, I sat down in my desk. This was one of the three classes I didn't share with Morgan. The desk next to mine was always empty though; the only empty one in the room.

Mrs. Pennock walked in, the old, stodgy, English teacher. She liked me, I was good at English, probably better than her. I was a good writer; it was my passion more than anything else. She admired that fact, having admitted that I was better than her once when I was in detention.

"Class, we have a new student joining us today from England, please meet Mr. Caleb Finch," she said happily. We rarely ever had new students in this godforsaken school, so she was definitely happy about a new kid. I knew he would have to sit next to me, but I didn't really care. I didn't intend to give him much thought.

He walked in, standing about five foot nine or ten. He was muscular, built like a runner or swimmer. He had blonde hair, perfect blonde hair that reminded me of Jasper's but better. It actually looked bleached, but in a really good way. He wore it well. It hung low and shaggy, almost in his eyes. He wore clothes that were probably bought a skater or surf store, punk-like clothes. What caught my eye though were his eyes. There was something strange about those eyes; they were gray, but also on the bluish side, like a shade in between. I smiled and moved my books onto my desk as he came and sat next to me.

"Um…hi," he said, a British accent almost as prominent as mine whenever I got angry, which happened often.

"Hey," I replied, my accent there, but not as strong.

"Wait, are you from England too?" he asked in disbelief.

"I was born there. My parents adopted me there when they were on vacation," I said with a smile, trying to make friendly conversation. I tried to get into his thoughts but I was hit with a brick wall. What was going on, this had never happened before. I couldn't read my mother's mind, but that was like she wasn't even there. With him, it was like he had barriers up, like I was running headlong into a wall. It gave me a literal headache.

"How ironic," he laughed.

"Perhaps," I sighed, now irritated because I thought something was wrong with me. I turned and looked at him again. He was very beautiful for a mortal, a perfectly formed face that could match even my father's. I sighed, shaking my head. I didn't need a guy; I liked my life the way it was. Wait…did I, truly?

I attempted to read his thoughts again and hit the wall once more, my head beginning to throb with the new attempts. It wasn't as though a block was in place either. Most mortals couldn't place blocks, but when my family members put up blocks, it didn't hurt.

"Something wrong?" he asked, noticing my frustration.

"Oh, no, I'm fine," I said softly.

"You sure…you seem...irritated," he said, sounding concerned. The heaters kicked on and blew his scent towards me, and it took all my effort not to clap my hand over my mouth from the stench of wet dog coming from somewhere in the room. It was pungent and nasty smelling. I automatically cut the passage of air to my lungs. He seemed to smell something odd too, and cringed before resuming a normal expression.

"Something wrong?" I asked, holding my breath now.

"Not at all," he said. We talked in the back for most of class, although I grew more and more irritated by the fact that I couldn't decipher his thoughts at all and I was growing more and more angry with myself. As soon as class ended, I was able to go through the day normally again, including breathing. I hated the smell of wet dog. Maybe he had given his pet a bath before school or something.

I drove home on the motorcycle faster than normal and cut the engine quickly, tossing my helmet on the couch. My mother came out of the kitchen, sensing my tension.

"What's wrong?" she asked with a confused expression.

"Something's wrong with me. I need to see Carlisle now," I told her impatiently.

"Alright," she said, her expression turning from confusion to worry. "Go get into the car." I nodded, grabbing the keys off the hook and running outside before unlocking the doors to the silver Volvo in the driveway. Of course my father would take the fast car to work, how obvious. My mother was out in a matter of seconds, sliding into the driver's seat while I sat in the passenger side, the key in the ignition and the car running. Her hands shot to the steering wheel as she sped out of the driveway and towards the hospital. As soon as we got there, Edward, my father - his tousled bronze hair blowing softly in the breeze – was standing on the porch.

"What's wrong?" he asked warily.

"She says something's wrong with her," Bella told him. I got out of the car and walked over to my father.

"Well?" he asked, his face stricken with worry.

"There's someone new in my class…he sits next to me in English…I can't read his mind. I think there is something seriously wrong with me. It's not like what you told me with mom, that it's like she's not even there. With him it's like I run into a brick wall. It hurts me physically to try. I think I'm sick or something," I said in a rush. He only laughed.

"I don't know what to tell you, kid," he said. "But I doubt you're sick. We'll go talk to Carlisle though." He began to walk back inside and I ran to catch up, my mother on our heels. We entered my grandfather's office and he turned around in his chair, still his same twenty-three year old self that he was when he was changed in the sixteen hundreds.

"Good afternoon, Claire," he said with his usual smile.

"Carlisle, I think something is wrong with me," I said, my British accent prominent now with my worry so high.

"Now why would you say that?" he asked with one eyebrow raised.

"She can't read some boy's mind," my father offered. "She says it physically hurts her to try, like there's a brick wall protecting his thoughts from her."

"I want to know why," I said, interrupting my father.

"Well, you're not sick, we don't get sick. Maybe he's one of the exceptions like your mother is. Perhaps you are not meant to read his mind," Carlisle offered.

"Or maybe he's not human," my father joked.

"He smelled like a wet dog, I think he's human if he keeps pets," I said, remembering the smell that came off of him when the heaters kicked on.

"Perhaps," Carlisle sighed. "I don't think anything is wrong with you though, Claire. It's best not to worry."

"So, I'll have to go to school tomorrow though?" I asked with one corner of my mouth turned down in a frown.

"Of course," my mother said in a shocked tone. "Why would you not?"

"Because I could be sick," I said with a laugh.

"Well, I doubt anything we get is contagious to humans," my father joked.

"Except blood poisoning," I added with a laugh. Even Carlisle cracked a smile at that one. "So…what am I supposed to do?" I asked my tone now angry.

"Just try and act normal, Claire. It's fine," Edward said, his hand running itself through my hair. I turned to Carlisle with confusion, hearing in his mind a slight bit of malcontent.

"Alice has seen visitors though," Carlisle said, pulling a newspaper out from under his desk and dropping it in front of me.

_**Murder Mystery continues: **_

_Late last night officers found heaps of dead bodies in Seattle located behind a bar. The site was fingerprinted, but nothing was found that could trace the killer or killers. It is likely that there is more than one. The odd thing was is that the bodies were found with very little blood and no murder weapons were anywhere on the scene. There were though, strange markings on all the bodies, such as those of teeth. There were cuts and bruises on the bodies, and each was tested to find a strange poison inside. The poison was tested at a lab and found to be nothing we've ever seen before. The tests will continue in order to find out who this killer is._

I dropped the paper, not willing to read more into it.

"How can our kind do that to humans? They're weaker and can't fight back," I said weakly as I looked at my father.

"I don't know, Claire. It is painful for me to see too, especially when they act like idiots and don't get rid of the bodies. Soon the Quileutes will be knocking at our doors trying to accuse us of this mess when we have nothing to do with it. I don't think they even know about you because we don't speak to them," Carlisle replied.

When we went home, I turned on the news for tonight and saw more about the killings, this time they were in Port Angeles and even more bodies were found with that same "poison" in them. Whoever was doing this deserved to be killed and I was sure that as soon as my family figure out who it was, the coven would be asked to leave and if they didn't oblige, they would be forced out even if it meant death.

The next I got to school on the motorcycle and found Morgan. Our energy was high that day and we skipped through the hallways like we used to when we were freshmen. I didn't know why I was in a such a good mood, but I really was. With a smile, I left her for my first class and took my seat next to Caleb.

"Hey," he said with a smirk. I clearly heard his nose struggle to pull a scent in. He gave a very small grimace before looking away.

"Hi," I replied back with a laugh.

"What's so funny?" he asked, sounding slightly irked.

"Nothing," I answered. I thought back to the conversation I had with my father the previous night. He told me to find out about this boy, and it was something I wasn't going to let slip by me. I had to find out what was so strange about him. Why couldn't I read his mind…I wanted to know. We sat through the class without talking and I went to my next period with a sigh. By the time I met up with Morgan in the cafeteria, he was already there, sitting with a few others.

He was there, his beauty astounding me once again, but the others were also very gorgeous in their own way. There were three girls. One was a red-head. She had vibrant red hair that swept her shoulders. It was wavy and when she stood up to drop off her tray at the front, I could see her beautiful figure that reminded me of Rosalie's. Her face was pretty, but too thin to be absolutely gorgeous. The other one was dirty blonde. She was very thin and very tall. She had bright green eyes that seemed to sweep the room. I watched her follow the other girl and drop off her tray as well before both the girls exited the cafeteria together. The last girl, the one with black hair stayed. She had straight, raven-colored hair that fell down to just below her shoulders. It was arranged in a slightly punk style, but looked still very cute. The ends seemed almost spiked, but I liked it. She had a perfect figure as well, but her face, unlike that of the redhead, was absolutely perfect. She had vibrant blue eyes, but hers were more of a turquoise while mine were a sky blue. She wasn't pale, nor was she tan, simply in the middle.

Next to her sat a tall boy that looked to be about a senior. He had black hair as well, and was very muscled. His skin was tanner than that of the black-haired girl, but not by much. We watched as he stood also and dropped his tray off, following the girls. I looked back to Caleb and the girl then noticed the last of them, a brunette boy with longish hair. It was long in the back and swept down in the front, like most of the people in those bands nowadays. He was thin and scrawny-looking in comparison to the one he had just been sitting next to, but as soon as the big guy got up, I was able to see how truly muscled he was. They were all perfect looking, but I knew they weren't vampires. I opened up my lungs and struggled to get a hold of their scents…each smelled like wet-dog, although the girl who remained had a scent of flowers covering it up. I watched as the remaining three stood and left.

"Know anything about the new kids?" I asked Morgan, my curiosity piqued.

"Yeah, the blonde one is named Caleb and the brunette is called Micah. The black-haired big guy is called Clark. The girls…well the pretty one, you know with the dark hair…she's named Keira. The redhead is named Rose, but the others call her Rosie. Then the blonde is named Lucy. The two black-haired kids are brother and sister, and the redhead and brunette are too, and the same goes for the blondes. They're all cousins though. Apparently they all live with their aunt and uncle, the redhead and the brunette's parents, but that's all I know for sure," she explained, looking at the place where they had just exited.

"That's all?" I asked sarcastically. "Morgan, you are the gossip fountain, you never stop gushing at me," I laughed.

"Thanks," she laughed, her green eyes dancing. The bell sounded and we both got up and dropped off our trays, though I hadn't eaten, obviously. Morgan knew, and she was the only human who did. She had been my best friend since I had started school here, and we had too much in common for her to have not figured it out. She followed me home one time for my birthday with the intention to surprise me and heard my family talking about the hunting trip. She thought it was normal at first, but when they said grizzly, she asked me about it the next day. I loved her like a sister far too much to not tell her. She believed me right on the spot, even as a freshman in high school.

We split ways with a hug before going off to our next period, which, for me, was History of the World. I sighed as I sat down. It took me a few seconds before I realized that the black-haired girl was standing at the front of the room, her beautiful face standing out form the sea of people as the boys stared at her with longing, the same stare that was given to me.

"We have a new student," said the History teacher, Mr. Carmack. "Her name is Keira Cole. Please make her feel welcome here, along with her brothers and her cousins who also have joined the school." Everyone looked back down at his or her books as Keira came to sit in the desk behind me. She leaned back in the chair casually, not really paying attention. She seemed like quite the over-confident person, somewhat like how I would have expected. I felt a light tap on my shoulder and turned around to face her.

"Hey…I was wondering if you knew any of my family members who moved here?" she asked. Her voice was polite, not something I expected from a girl who seemed to think she was so cool. I looked down at her hands, seeing checked fingerless gloves that ran to half-way to her elbow.

"Um…yeah, Caleb is in my English class first period," I said with a shrug. She smiled and nodded before leaning back in her seat.

"Nice stud by the way," she said before looking out with window.

"What?" I asked in confusion.

"Your nose ring," she laughed, looking back at me before looking out with window again. The class went by quickly and more boring than I could have expected, and so did my last period. When I got on the motorcycle and went home, I told my family members about how they all smelled the same, with that horrible wet dog-like odor.

"There's nothing wrong with you," My mother, said, feeling my forehead. "You're just as cold as normal," she finished with a note of finality in her voice. "Now get ready for dinner at your grandparents' house."

"Alright," I sighed, going up to my room and changing. Now I was wearing a slightly cuter outfit than just what I wore to school. As I came down the stairs, the doorbell rang and I waited for my mom to answer it.

"Claire, you have a visitor," she said, sounding like she was about to laugh. I came into the entryway and saw Caleb standing there with Keira. My mom left and walked around into the kitchen where my father was. I closed my mind to their thoughts, knowing they were probably making-out in there.

"Can I help you?" I asked with confusion.

"We just wanted to talk to you," Keira said with a smile. I raised my eyebrows before walking out onto the front porch, closing the door behind me. I noticed Keira's accent for the first time, but quickly disregarded it.

"So, what's this about?" I asked when we were out of earshot of my family.

"You know we come form England, correct?" Keira asked, her voice taking on the tone of a different decade like mine had on occasion.

"Yeah," I said, becoming more confused by the second.

"Well, our families moved here because they're…detectives of sorts. Down in Port Angeles and Seattle, there've been tons of killings recently. The American government told us to stay out of it, but our aunt and uncle decided to take things into their own hands and figure out what was going on for themselves. So…we were just going to say, that if you know anything about these murders, please tell us, it would make things so much easier for you," Caleb said, his voice sounding slightly angry.

"I don't know anything," I admitted truthfully. "Nothing besides what I've seen on the news and in the paper, I promise. But if I find anything out…I'll let you know."

"Good," Keira said, although sounding slightly angry.

"We'll be leaving now," Caleb said, nudging Keira with his elbow before they walked off our front porch and down towards the large Hummer waiting for them in the driveway. I watched them leave before going back inside the house.

"What was that about?" my mother asked me with a confused expression.

"They wanted to know if I knew anything about the killings. They said their aunt and uncle were detectives from England who wanted to find out what this was. I don't know…I just said I had no idea what or who it was," I replied, massaging my temples.

"Good," my father answered. "We need to speak with Carlisle though.

**A/N: What do you think? Is it the good, the bad, or the ugly? I personally like this plot and if I get more than ten reviews on this first chapter, I will make it so that if I am messaged with a question about Caleb or his family I will answer it. Next chapter as soon as I write it, okay? Please Review!!**

**P.S. If you're wondering why I named her Claire, it's because in one of my other fics, there was a character named Claire, who looks a lot like this Claire, blonde-haired, blue-eyed, and she died…tear and they begged me to bring her back. Well, I brought her back in a different respect. Plus, Rebekah is my first name, and yes it is spelled that way! **

**P.P.S. For those of you who don't believe I am fifteen…I am, if you still don't believe me, let me tell you…you should think I'm younger, haha. Every quiz I've taken has classified me as either a six or seven-year-old. So, you should just believe that I am only 15, haha!!**


	2. Give Me Speed

**A/N: YES!! On my website, pictures of the characters!! Be excited!! Go to the navigation bar and click the title and there's links to the pictures of the characters!! Okay, so! Anyways…how'd you like chapter 1?? Oh wait…I know…I read the reviews. So…I've decided that to all the questions, I will put them on a story FAQ page on my website too. So, if you have ANY questions about any of the stories that I deem ready to be answered and won't spoil future chapters, then I will post them on there. Oooh, send me predictions too!! That'd be fun!!**

**Disclaimer: Stephenie Meyer owns most of this stuff, but Claire is mine…and so is Gavin, and all his family members belong to me too, so don't take them from me!! If you do, I will kick you in the face!**

* * *

"There are people here investigating the killings! What if they figure it out? What if they already know?" my father was nearly shouting.

"Calm down, Edward," Esme said, grabbing Edward's hand and pushing him into the chair in Carlisle's office.

"They won't figure it out if they're mortal, and if they already know then that's why they asked Claire today. If they already know, then they've already pinned it on us and just need an excuse," Carlisle said, his always logical mind coming up with the answers as always.

"Good point," Edward sighed, massaging his temples like he always did nowadays.

"And if they already think it's us, they'll be watching us," Carlisle finished. "So, in that case, we need to watch them as well. Claire," he said. I looked up, into Carlisle's eyes. I didn't know why, but I trusted him more than my own family members, possibly because he would never lie to me and because he was the first person I saw in my new life. I wasn't really sure though. "I need you to keep an eye on those two you have classes with. Caleb and Keira are strictly business, so don't become friends with them. You know how to act even better than the rest of us, so please, act. Do not actually develop a relationship with either of them. If you do, the plan will be ruined."

"I got it," I said softly with a glance at my mother. She was worried about me…worried because as soon as she saw the boy, she thought that I would end up dating him or something. I guess she could be right in a way, but I knew better. She approached me, leaning down slightly to whisper into my ear.

"He did smell like dog…Edward said he couldn't get a good whiff from the kitchen. I have no idea what they are, but be careful not to let anything slip around them, alright?" she asked.

"Bella…why are you whispering…they can hear you anyway," I said with a laugh.

"Oh…right," my mother said before walking out of the office. I wanted to talk to Carlisle. It was important after the last thing I extracted from Alice's mind. It was just one flash of an image…an alley, and at the end of the alley was my body all bruised and battered. I wanted some sort of explanation.

"Edward…Esme," I began, looking at the others in the room besides Carlisle and myself.

"Yes?" Esme answered, looking up.

"Can I talk to Carlisle alone please?" I asked, looking from Edward to Esme with a swift glance of pleading.

"Sure, kid," Edward said, leaving the room. Esme lifted her hand to her mouth as though to bite her nails, but she stopped. Her maternal instinct wanted to know everything now that I was the family's baby. "Come on, Esme," Edward said, grabbing his mother's hand and pulling her out of the room. I laughed as I watched them leave, content with my family as I had always been.

"Now. What is it that you wished to talk about?" Carlisle asked, sitting down in the chair behind his desk. I sat down across from him, thinking about how to word my answer.

"I want to know where I came from, and why I can't remember anything at all of my human life when the rest of them remember something," I answered, looking at my hands resting on the top of his desk. "I trust you to be honest with me more than the rest of them, which is why I asked them to leave. I have asked Bella and Edward a million times to tell me, but they won't. So, please, tell me," I pleaded, looking up into his golden eyes.

"It's not my place to tell you. Only Edward and Bella have the right to say," he answered.

"Then can you answer some other questions?"

"Such as…"

"Why are my eyes blue when everyone else has gold or black eyes and the rogues we meet have red? Why did the piercing in my nose stay when Rosalie and Bella's pierced ears disappeared? Why do I not crave blood as often as you?"

"Most of those questions I can't answer."

"Why?"

"Because I have no idea myself. You were a wonder when you first came into this family. You had so much potential to be the greatest and most powerful of our race. Look at you…you're faster than Edward and I have never seen anyone beat him. You have the strength to match Emmet…no one has ever been able to match that. Your eyes are blue…why? I have no idea. You can bend light into solid objects, and I question the possibility of that as well. Your nose remains pierced and scars from the transformation still stay on your body when everyone, including Bella's faded within two days of end of the transformation.

"I cannot pretend to understand why you are the way you are. How you can possibly blend in as well as you do, why your eyes stay the same icy blue they were while everyone I have met has lost their vibrant eyes, including Edward's bright green ones. Claire, please, believe me when I say I have no idea why you are the way you are. I have no idea why you don't remember. When we found you, you had lost most of your memories already. You're the youngest of my family now, and we all feel protective of you, which is why you must trust me when I tell you it isn't time to tell you the state we found you in."

I searched his mind frantically, but he was guarding his thoughts from me…I couldn't even detect my own presence in his mind. Damn, he must have gotten good at that when Edward was living with him.

"I just thought you would tell me. I thought I was always ready. I pulled a thought out of Alice's head today and it made me question whether or not you've been telling me the truth my whole life or not," I said simply, standing up.

"Where are you going?" Carlisle asked, his voice holding the concern it always held when he spoke to me.

"Out," I answered simply, opening the door to his office and walking past the rest of my family and out the front door.

**_Bella's POV_**

"What did she say?" I asked when Carlisle emerged from the office. "Why did she storm out of here?"

"Calm down, Bella," Edward said, his hands on my shoulders trying to soothe my chagrin.

"Calm down!? My daughter just stormed out of here and sprinted back to the house. Goodness knows where she's going to be!" I shouted.

"She wanted to know about the day we found her," Carlisle answered simply.

"You didn't say anything did you?" Edward asked.

"Of course not. It's your decision to tell her or not," Carlisle replied. "Although I think she's ready. I know she's ready. You are just afraid of what she'll do to humans if she finds out what society did to her."

"I told you it was time the moment she woke up and was a vampire," I yelled at Edward, turning around to face him.

"She'll freak out," he said simply, his seriousness not escalading to anger quite yet.

"She deserves to know. She needs to know not only how we found her, but also what we found out later on when we researched it. She needs to know why she's different from the rest of us. So what she may hate humans for a while and have to go on a break to Denali like you had to and Carlisle did and Esme and Jasper and the rest of them. She has a right to know," I said angrily.

"Then she can remember it herself," Edward replied.

"What if she never does?" I asked sadly.

"Then she'll never know," he said softly, his hand stroking my cheek as he leaned down to kiss my lips. At that moment my argument dissolved. The scent of him filled my lungs and I could barely breathe, even when I didn't really need to.

"What was I saying?" I asked when he pulled away.

"Nothing," he laughed.

"I hate it when you do that. You said you'd stop trying to 'mess' with my memory," I retorted angrily. "Now should we go and find our daughter?"

"No, she'll come back when she cools off," he replied.

"I hope you're right," I said softly.

_**Claire's POV**_

I slid onto the midnight blue Ducati, my helmet laying on a table inside the house and revved the engine before lifting off the break and shooting out into the night. As I drove I thought about the image I had pulled from Alice's mind and the answers Carlisle had given me. They didn't answer any of the questions I had. Angry, I pushed the bike faster, the wind rushing through my blonde hair as I made it to the place I was looking for. I stopped it and guided it over to a spot and set the alarm before walking over to the man behind a table. There were scantily clad women hanging off of him. I shrugged out of my riding jacket.

"Claire! Good to see you back here. You know, until you get your license back, though, you could get me into way more trouble than I would normally for running the races. You know I can't afford a bust right now," said the man.

"Tony…seriously. Let me run and I'll double what's in the pot right now," I said with a smirk.

"Deal," he said. "Babe, you sure are an idiot. That'll be four thousand dollars," he said with a smirk. I hated his obnoxious New Yorker accent. Well, he came from there, so I couldn't really hate it that much, could I?

I was already wearing my biking pants. They were by Icon Motors, and I loved them. They were so comfortable and sleek. I looked at him and handed him my money.

"Did you pick up everything I asked for?" I asked him, lowering my voice.

"Yeah. I mean seriously, how badly would parents freak if they found out you bought the superbike?"

"So, is it in my locker?" I asked impatiently.

"Yeah. Oh, here's the jacket and the boots, and the gloves too. You said you needed more racing gear, right?" he asked. I smiled.

"You get the winnings when I win, alright, Tony?" I asked with a smirk. "I paid for the bike, this is payment for the gear. You really are great," I laughed.

"No problem," he said with a laugh, lifting a huge shopping bag over the table and pushing it towards me. I opened it to find the brand new black Ducati jacket and racing boots and runner's gloves.

"This is exactly what I asked for. They're all optimal speed right?" I asked.

"Of course. You think I don't know you well enough by now?" he asked. "I got the helmet too. Want that?"

"Of course. Where is it?"

"Waiting with bike. Here's the key to your locker, kid. Go get the fastest bike in the world. It's cherry-red just like you asked. I mean seriously that thing was expensive. She's gonna make you cross the finish line first though," he laughed.

"Are there any cars in the race tonight?" I asked warily.

"Yeah. Two a guy and girl. One's brought a Lambo and the other has a viper. You can smoke them though, so don't worry about it."

"But aren't Vipers the fastest cars on the road?" I asked warily.

"Yeah, but you have the fastest bike on the road. And if you lose tonight, you'll owe me a lot of money," he said, suddenly much more serious. "So, better get ready, the race is in ten minutes."

"Alright," I said, snatching the key from his hand and taking the bag with me. I dropped my cruising jacket with the blue bike and walked over to the locker on the end of the lot and opened it. Inside sat the fastest bike in the world. It was the Ducati superbike, cherry-red. On the handlebars rested the newest 800-euro helmet. I let out a sigh of contentment. If Bella and Edward found out about this, I would be dead. If I lost, I would be dead. So, the options I had are as follows: Don't lose, don't let Bella and Edward figure it out. Come back in a week to earn back all the money I would lose tonight from giving it to Tony. Sounded easy enough, right? I let out a sigh before pulling on my new jacket and putting the helmet on my head. It was a very comfortable attire in comparison to the last set of Ducati clothing to be released. I mounted the bike and started it before driving off the ramp and out of the locker and through the small lanes before getting to the line.

I lined up with the other bikes and the cars before lifting the face shield on the helmet. I could feel a breeze as my blonde hair whipped around behind me.

"Hey princess! Don't expect us to go easy on ya because you're a chick," said the guy on the bike next to me. I stayed tensed to the motorcycle, leaned over and poised. I turned my head though.

"You might want me to be taking it easy on you, old man," I said sarcastically, patting the bike beneath me right where the number was pained to show what kind of bike it was. I saw his face make a grimace before he flipped down his own face shield. I looked at the two cars. One was a bright yellow while the other was a beautiful blue with two white stripes going up the front of it. I looked back ahead of me.

A woman dressed in motorcycle gear came out from an area where no one was parked and had a bright checkered flag in her hand. She lifted it and everyone revved their engines, I watched as everything in my mind slowed it all down as she lowered the flag and I stepped on the gas pedal and shot forward. The truth was I would always have the best reflexes. If I was running I could beat them all easily, but that wasn't the case. I needed speed and I pushed the bike forward, feeling like I was flying. I looked to my mirrors and saw the motorcycles and the yellow car behind me. When I turned my head the blue car was right next to me. It was a convertible, but the driver wasn't paying enough attention for me to notice any detail. I could only see that he was a man. I swore under my breath before pushing the bike harder, and the car matched me.

I pushed the face shield up and looked back at the man before noticing the traps that had been set this time. We were going through an alley at them moment. I had the course memorized. I saw flares of fire ahead and noticed a piece of plywood on top of a cinderblock. I swerved and went up, jumping the fire. I saw the car just speed right through the fire.

"Asshole," I muttered under my breath before speeding up even more. I was already pushing one-twenty. The car began to fall behind as I looked back ahead and saw the tunnel we had entered. There was a bunch of spikes on the ground and the tunnel was perfectly round. I swerved to the side and went up the wall, going all the way around the ceiling before coming back down ahead of the spikes. I saw the car go overtop of them. Hmm…of course, specialized tires. As I looked forward again, I saw the finish line and sped forward, but the car was catching up and I pushed even more to be at one-sixty, barely making it over the line first.

I circled around and came to a screeching halt. I took the helmet off and shook out my blonde locks before looking at the viper that had remained on my tale the entire way.

"Nice race," I said, not looking at the driver.

"You too, Claire," said a familiar voice. I looked up. Could this day get any worse? It was Caleb. Of course…I rolled my eyes before pulling off my gloves and shoving them into my pockets and pushing the bike over to the table. Caleb ran after me.

"I had no idea you were so idiotic," he laughed.

"Shut up," I said angrily, signing my name on the check and handing it to Tony before walking off. That check signed all my winning over to him from today.

"What was that?" Caleb asked as I wheeled my bike towards the locker. I pushed it in and took off the jacket and threw it inside along with my gloves and helmet. I was standing there in a black spaghetti-strap top and my biking pants and boots. I took the boots off and threw them in before picking up my cruising boots and pulling them on.

"I owed him money and a favor, if you must know," I said, knowing how snobby I sounded.

"For what?" he asked, sounding genuinely curious. I was sitting on the locker ramp and I looked up at him, a glare on my face.

"Picking up a bunch of stuff, orders, parts. I was paying him back from a while ago. He sent in the order for the bike, but I had paid for that. He bought my helmet, which cost him about a thousand dollars, and he bought the jacket that was about five hundred bucks. Should I go on? You know how much Ducati stuff costs people nowadays," I said caustically, standing up and walking past him before lifting the ramp and locking the huge locker. I began to walk back towards my parking spot when I felt a hand grab my wrist and keep me from walking away. He didn't pull me back towards him, but just kept me still. I wasn't going to pull against him though.

"Can I help you?" I asked angrily, looking back at him.

"Yeah, you can tell me what you're doing here. Why are you doing idiotic stuff like this? Your family doesn't need the money or anything," he asked, letting go of my arm. I crossed my arms over my chest. I was completely aware that my toned stomach was showing, but I didn't care at the moment.

"Don't pretend to know anything about my family," I said angrily.

"I don't have to pretend. Everyone knows how much money your father makes as a surgeon. Your grandfather too, but no one has ever seen them, only your mother, and she looks way too young. What about my other questions?" he asked expectantly.

"I'm here because I am angry. This is what I do when I get pissed. There's a way for everyone to get anger out, you know. I was just doing what I do. The same goes for the idiotic question. Now why are you here? New kids never know about this stuff without a source."

"My cousin and I have been street racing since we were fifteen. In cars only, but still."

"Which cousin was in the lambo?" I asked, eyebrows raised.

"You do notice details, I'll give you that," he assessed. "It was Keira. She's the only one besides me who gets a kick out of the speed we get when racing."

"Well, go find her. I bet she's looking for you," I replied angrily.

"I know where she is. She lost, so she already drove home. She knows where I am too. So stop trying to get rid of me and just talk to me."

"Why are you being so nosy?" I asked, recalling what Carlisle had said about the possibility that they might know. I should probably be trying to get rid of him, but he did say I had to watch him…what better way to watch than to be with him. Maybe he just wanted to get to know me.

"Because I know you know something about the murders," he said flatly. Never mind, he didn't want to get to know me at all.

"You're unbelievable," I said angrily before walking away.

"Come on, just let me have on conversation with you," he said, running ahead of me and cutting me off. I glared at him. "Want to go get some coffee?"

"I don't like coffee," I said honestly. The truth was I didn't like any food, not when I had to cough it back up later because my digestive tract didn't work.

"A movie?" he said with a smirk.

"This late? Get real," I said with a glare.

"How about we just go sit somewhere and talk?" he asked hopefully.

"Hmm…maybe another time. I really should be getting home. My parents don't know I'm here."

"And they don't know this place exists either, do they?"

"I'm sure they know it exists…they just don't know I know it exists," I laughed.

"Oh, look, I made her smile!" he joked.

"I made myself smile, don't get cocky," I said, walking past him, my shoulder brushing up against his. I felt a small spark as our skin touched. I couldn't help but notice how muscled he was and how flawless his skin was. Okay, I needed to stop thinking of that stuff. I didn't need anyone in that way any time soon…if at all ever.

"Can I give you a ride home?" he asked with a smile.

"And what will we do with my other bike?" I replied sarcastically.

"I can call Clark to drive it to your house," he offered.

"Can Clark drive motorcycles?" I asked, trying to imagine the huge and muscled boy trying to drive something as small as my bike.

"Usually," he said with a laugh.

"Then hell no!" I replied. I treasured that bike too much to let an amateur drive it.

"Alright then…how about I drive you home from school tomorrow?"

"But…"

"Good, see you then," he said smirking. I stamped my foot as he walked over to his car. I couldn't believe him. What was his problem? The other day he acted like I smelled bad and now he couldn't keep himself away from me! Grr…this boy was getting more and more aggravating by the minute, but what I hated the most was that I sort of was looking forward to seeing him. I stomped back to my motorcycle only to be intercepted by Tony. He handed me a stack of bills.

"What's this?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.

"The extra from when you paid me off. There was about a thousand left. Take it, I don't need it. A few people entered after you and it doubled the pot, so here, have it," he said.

"Thanks," I said, smiling. I rolled up the money and pushed it into my pocket before pulling on my boots and jacket and mounting my bike. "See ya next week," I said before turning the bike on and revving the engine and peeling out of there. By the time I got inside the house it was already midnight and I could hear my mother's frantic thoughts coming from the house. I walked in, waiting for the worst.

"HOW DARE YOU!" Bella's scream bombarded me. "You went for a drive without your helmet! You are grounded forever!"

"Bella, calm down," my father soothed her. She leaned back into his arms. I looked at them with a sigh.

"Why are you covered in soot?" my mother asked angrily. "Why is that black stuff all over your beautiful face?" she demanded. I touched my cheek and pulled my hand back, seeing the ash all over my fingers. It was only where I had kept the facemask up.

"I fell," I lied.

"You fell? You never fall. You can't fall. Tell me the truth," my father said, sounding calm as usual.

"That is the truth, I hit a patch of loose gravel the bike slipped out from under me and I thought I had brushed off, but seeing as I didn't have much of a mirror, I couldn't really know that there was still dirt all over my face," I said, not looking at them.

"Tell the truth, Claire," my father repeated.

"I was racing," I said, looking up at them. There wasn't a hint of regret in my tone. "There are you happy?" I asked before walking past them up the stairs and to my room and slamming the door.

_**Bella's POV**_

"We have to tell her or this will keep happening," I said softly, sitting in a chair at the kitchen table. "This is the second time this month she's been racing. Last time she was caught doing it in broad daylight and the officer took her license. If she keeps doing this she'll go to jail. We can't let her drive to school anymore. We should take the bike away," I finished thoughtfully.

"You want her to be even more of a rebel?" Edward asked rhetorically.

"No, but I don't know how else to solve this problem," I admitted, looking at my hands. "She can't be tamed, we should just get used to it. The longer we lie to her about her past, the longer she'll push us away. I don't want to lose our daughter," I said softly.

"We'll tell her when she has the maturity not to do the stuff she pulled tonight. I don't even know where she raced. I want to know if she does it for money and if she does I want to know whom she races under. She needs to grow up, that's her problem," Edward replied.

"It's not a maturity issue, it's her personality," I replied.

"Maybe you're right. Perhaps she'll never quite outgrow that stage of her life. I don't know how else to control her though. She only stays here to get answers I think. If we tell her, she'll get angry and leave and she might not come back," Edward said softly. I placed my hand on his and our fingers twined together.

"You're a good father, don't ever think you aren't. You gave this girl a second chance at life. Don't forget that. We were young when we adopted her…we were; well I was young and an idiot," I said softly and honestly. "She deserves to know. It's her life, and if she reacts the wrong way then we can sit her down and try to explain it to her. We both have seen human cruelty in our lives; we know what it can do. She hasn't seen it before, and she trusts them. Whichc is why if we tell her, she may go nuts, but the longer we wait, the bigger risk it is."

"I still say that when she shows the maturity not to act like she did tonight, she can know. It's like grounding, only more cruel," he said with a small smile on the corners of his lips.

"You're bad," I laughed.

"I know," he said with a smile.

_**Claire's POV**_

"They can't control me," I said under my breath as I packed a suitcase and tossed it out the window. It landed softly on the ground and I leapt out. I had to get out of here, just for tonight. I couldn't take a car though; it would alert them that I was leaving right away. I couldn't stay here tonight though. I was too angry to be in the same house as them. I slid out of the front lawn silently and entered the city of Forks before picking up a familiar scent and followed it.

* * *

**A/N: Due to popular demand, there was some Bella's-point-of-view in here. If you want me to answer your questions you need to get at least ten reviews in a chapter. I will put the answers on an FAQ page as soon as you guys get it together and start reviewing, haha. So, interesting chapter huh? I bet you wanna know what the Cullens found out when they researched Claire, eh? Well, if you review enough, I might be able to tell you, if not, you have to wait!! Haha, I'm evil I know!! **


	3. The Drive

**A/N: Yay! School is back and easter break is over. And yes, that was sarcasm coated and chocolate bunny covered goodness. Well, the good news is that I got a new iPod, seeing as mine was stolen a month ago, that's a pretty amazing thing. Other than that, you know pretty boring on the home front. So…yeah review more so I can answer your questions, seriously, haha. Alright, well, let's get rid of the nice cliffy I left you at, eh?**

**Disclaimer: All you know is Stephenie Meyers, everything else, like Claire and Caleb and Keira…yeah, they belong to me, and if you even think about stealing them without my permission, you can go fall in a ditch!**

_We Drive  
To leave the past and clear the mind  
to watch the sunset set its time  
I swear you'll find  
I'm your ride home  
Now close your eyes  
its' getting dark and the highway's clear  
No sign of life from front to rear  
Its just you, my dear  
On the ride home  
We're going home_

_**She's My Ride Home – Blue October**_

I knocked on the door carefully…well window actually. It was the only other bedroom on the ground floor, and I knew it had to be his. I could tell he was there, I could tell that scent. I heard footsteps approach the window and open it. Caleb was standing there in a pair of sweatpants and no shirt. I bit my lip, trying not to assess his body, but not being able to help myself.

"Claire…what are you doing here?" he asked as he yawned and rubbed his eyes.

"I kind of ran away from home," I said, looking at me feet from embarrassment.

"So, why would you come here?" he asked. "Don't you have a best friend?"

"Yeah…but I kind of wanted to ask a favor," I said, finally realizing what I wanted.

"Alright…of me or Keira?" he asked with another yawn.

"You of course," I replied with a silent laugh.

"Alright, shoot," he said with a smirk.

"Can we go for a ride?" I asked hopefully. He looked at me, bewildered for a moment, then smiled.

"Sure, give me five minutes," he said with a smirk. "I'll be out the front door in a second," he laughed. He closed the window and I went around to the front of the house and sat on the front porch. As if clocked, five minutes later, the door opened and he came out in a pair of ripped jeans and a men's undershirt, but nothing else. I could see the contours of his chest and arms easily and smiled. "So, where are we riding to?" he asked with a grin.

"Anywhere but my parents' or grandparents' house," I said, still smiling.

"How about Seattle?" he asked with a smirk.

"Fine by me," I answered. He pulled a set of keys form his pocket and hit a button that let a little noise come from the sleek viper in the driveway. He hit another button and the top on it went down. I grinned and walked towards it, touching the side and opening the passenger door.

"What, miss need for speed doesn't want to drive?" he asked sarcastically.

"I'll drive back," I said, looking up at him with a light laugh.

"In a good mood?" he asked, looking at me with excited eyes.

"I don't know why, but yeah," I answered, still smiling.

"Let me make you happier and take you to my favorite place to get in a good mood," he said with a smirk.

"We're going to England?" I joked sarcastically.

"No," he said with a smirk. "We're going to the cliffs," he said smiling. My stomach dropped.

"The cliffs…like in La Push?" I asked nervously.

"No…the cliffs outside of Port Angeles above the water. I'll show you, get in," he said, running around the side of the car, opening the driver's door and climbing in. I got in the passenger side and waited while he slid the key fluidly into the ignition. I pulled my coat tighter around me and saw him reach around a pull a coat from the backseat. I was wondering about that…it was the middle of winter after all. He shrugged tino his coat and grabbed my bag form my hand and threw it into the back before starting the car.

"Hurry up," I said with a smile as I zipped up my coat. There was a temperature read out on the car and it read 30 degrees. I looked up at the sky and saw that it looked like something could fall at any second, and most likely rain.

"I'm going," he said as he started the car and looked up at the sky as well. "You know, if you're cold we can put the top up."

"I'm fine," I said with a smile. "You?"

"I'm great," he said, zipping up his coat. "The thing I worry about is if it snows. The car can go through fire, but any snow and we're grounded," he laughed. "So, if anything falls, we're staying in Port Angeles for the night." I gulped before looking back ahead of me and placing my hand on the center console. The car roared to life as he pressed the gas pedal. It lunged to life and drove out into Forks. He began driving northeast towards the highway. When we finally reached the highway, it was completely clear. I smiled to myself as he sped the car up along the stretch of highway. The cold air blew through my hair as we went, building speed.

"Looks like we're alone," he said with a smile.

"Yep," I laughed.

"So, why are you running away? You never gave me a chance to ask the questions," he said, smirking.

"My parents think they can control everything I do," I said, looking at him as my euphoria began to drain.

"Technically they can't though…you know, I mean until you turn eighteen," he said with his eyebrows raised.

"You don't get it," I said with a smile, completely leaving out the fact that I had already been under their tyranny for ten years.

"I bet they don't either," he said, looking at me with a smirk playing around his lips.

"But I've told them before," I said softly.

"Doesn't mean they listened. Parents have a bad habit of choosing not to listen to people, especially their kids, when they talk," he said, adjusting the mirrors and turning on the radio. A song I liked came on, a song by a band I adored.

"You like Evans Blue?" I asked skeptically.

"I like everything, but yeah, they are one of my favorites," he said with a grin as he stared at the road ahead.

"Such as…" I edged with a smirk, not taking my eyes off of his gorgeous face. He let out a sigh before looking back at me.

"Such as Blue October, Blink 182, Bowling for Soup, Saosin, Death Cab, MCR, Dropping Daylight, Soundgarden, the Killers, the Vanished, Buckcherry, Muse, Stone Sour, shall I continue?" he asked with a smile.

"You and I have some pretty similar tastes in music," I assessed with a grin.

"Coincidence, I bet," he laughed. Another song came on the radio. "Speak of the devil," he said with a smile, turning up the song by the Killers, Read My Mind.

**_Bella's Pov_**

When I came to see if she was okay, I was hit in the face by a surprise I wasn't ready for. She was gone, along with an entire outfit.

"EDWARD!" I yelled. He was at my side in an instant, knowing I would never yell like that unless it was an emergency.

"She's gone," he breathed, anger and fear coating his tone.

"Of course she's gone! This is terrible! We shouldn't have yelled at her or told her that or said anything or thought about punishing her!" I screamed.

"We'll follow her scent," Edward soothed softly. "I'll go, you stay here in case she comes back. She should be home by morning, hopefully."

"Okay," I said softly.

**_Edward's POV_**

"Please let her be safe," I whispered to myself as soon as I picked up the scent. I followed it closely until I came to a huge mansion on the opposite side of Forks as Esme's home. It was there that her trail was at a stop. It was as though something had covered it up or she had just vanished. "Dammit," I said angrily as I walked slowly home. I noted before I left though, the scent of werewolf emanating from this house. It wasn't strong like the Quileute scent, but more of a scent of a dirty or a wet dog. I stopped my breathing as I went home, the scent unbearable.

**_Claire's PoV_**

"I love this song," I said softly as the melody drifted through the speakers. "And you read my mind," I said softly as I listened to it. He laughed once before speeding up down the abandoned highway. "Pull off here," I said, smiling.

"Why?" he asked with a wary expression, turning on his blinker to get onto the exit ramp.

"Just do it, okay?" I asked with a smirk.

"I don't trust that smile of yours, but alright," he said as he took the ramp and we pulled into a town.

"Let's go do something," I said, eying the shopping center ahead with a smile.

"I'm not buying you anything, you know that right?" he asked with a laugh.

"I have money," I said.

"From racing yesterday?"

"Nope…from racing last week," I said with a smirk.

"Alright," he said with a sigh. "I'll beat you one of these days though."

"Doubt it. I'm the champion of that course," I said.

"We'll go to New York and you can try a course there. Those are some fun ones," he laughed.

"Done it," I said with a joking smile. "My family travels a lot."

"I bet," he said, sounding as though his words had a double-meaning. I ignored it and looked at him with a pleading smile. "Alright, to the giant mall," he said with a laugh, pulling into the parking lot and parking the car. It was one of those malls that was open all night long. The kind that you rarely found nowadays. It was why I loved going here. The place was so retro and yet modern at the same time. It made me smile just to think about it. It was then that Caleb's pocket began ringing as he shoved his hand inside and pulled out a cell phone.

"Hello?" he asked, flipping it open.

"Where are you?" I heard the voice on the other line ask. It sounded worried and frantic.

"Keira calm down," Caleb said with a roll of his eyes.

"Where are you?"

"I'm out with a friend," he answered.

"In the early hours of the morning? First you talk me into racing the new Lambo and now you sneak out of the house? You're gonna be so dead if Charlotte and Chris find out."

"I realize that. I'm doing exactly what I'm supposed to do though."

"She's there? Oh, shit, she can hear me then, can't she?"

"Well, you're certainly screaming."

"Sorry."

"Listen, I'll call you back when we start back for Forks, okay? Don't bug me again until I call. If anything comes up I'll call too. So don't worry. I'm not as dumb as you think," he joked.

"Hurry up. There's a blizzard in Forks right now. If you get stuck in it you're both gonna get hurt."

"If it hits us, we'll stay here overnight."

"Fine. Bye."

"Bye my dear cousin," he said sarcastically, flicking the phone shut. "Sorry about that. She's completely overprotective of me," he laughed.

"I know the feeling. You should meet my entire family," I said, completely believing that myself.

"I can't imagine," he said with a smirk.

"Who are Charlotte and Chris?" I asked, completely curious.

"My guardians, my aunt and uncle," he said with a smirk. "They never really get mad about anything, but Keira hates disappointing people with a passion," he joked. I opened the door of the car and climbed out, slightly clumsy. "Careful," he said, reaching across the car to grab my hand and help me out. He clicked a button on the remote that pulled the top of the convertible up. I smiled as I watched it go up and he continued to hold my hand until opening his own door.

"Thanks," I said with a smile. If I could have blushed, I would have. How can I know? I felt warmth stain my cheeks. He was too perfect for anyone like me to ever have. I just couldn't stand the smell of him. He got out then, coming around the side of the car.

"So, remind me why we're at the mall when you don't have any money to spend," he said with a smirk.

"Charge card, gift cards, credits, debit, you know the whole bit," I said with a smile, pulling a thin wallet from my pocket filled with various cards to many different stores, and some were just credit cards. We walked through the parking lot, not making contact with each other. I saw some other couples, the girls would glance at Caleb and the boys would glance at me. Every time one looked at me though, I could sense Caleb stiffen protectively next to me, and it made me happy and it made me feel safe.

The automatic doors slid open and I grabbed his hand and pulled him into one of the stores with a smile. There, I bought a few things on my debit card, which was perfectly safe, seeing as my bank account was totally full. We spent the entire time together. He offered to buy me stuff at the food court constantly, but I insisted each time that I wasn't hungry and had a huge dinner. At the end, I had three huge bags filled with stuff. As we went towards the door to get to the car, I saw the blizzard.

"Um…" I said warily. He looked out the front door too.

"Crap," he muttered under his breath, pulling out his cell and pressing a few buttons before holding it to his ear.

"I told you," came Keira's voice on the phone.

"Shut up. I guess we're just gonna stay here until it blows over, okay?" he asked into the cell.

"Yeah, whatever. Be careful though, okay?"

"Yeah, there's a hotel down the road that we can walk to, and it isn't that bad yet," he said with a smile.

"Yeah, well, Forks is under three feet right now. So, it'll be coming. You'll probably have to be towed back here."

"Call Claire's parents, okay? Tell them she's okay, in good hands, and we'll be back in the morning." _Uh oh,_ I thought. Emmet was bound to come up here demanding to take me in his stupid truck. "Call me back after you talk to them, okay?"

"Yeah, yeah. Sure."

"Bye, Ki-Ki," he said with a smile.

"I'm not a five-year-old anymore, you dork." And then I heard the click of the dial tone in the background. She had hung up. I tried to suppress a laugh from that last bit.

"Are we walking?" I asked, looking down at my feet with a look of slight disgust. I wasn't wearing very good boots for something like that.

"Yeah, but I can carry you if you'd like," he joked.

"No, I'll walk," I said, smiling as I walked out the automatic doors into the night. I was shocked when it was still dark. It was the very, very early hours of the morning, I knew, but I thought we had wasted a lot more time. We stopped and put the shopping bags in the trunk of the car except for one outfit for each of us. I had spent a little money buying him something too. We walked quickly, well, quickly for a human pace, and made it to a hotel within five minutes. He was right; it was insanely close. He shook the snow off of his jacket and I jumped, letting the snow on mine fall off all round me as I laughed. He smiled at me before walking to the front desk.

"Two rooms please," he said with a smile.

"Sorry, only one room is open," said the woman behind the counter after looking into her database. "You'll be fine, there's only one bed, but one can sleep on the floor right?" she asked, an apologetic smile on her face. "Or there's a couch too."

"It's fine," I interrupted with a smile. "I'll sleep on the couch or the floor or whatever."

"You sure?" he asked, his eyes wide in shock.

"Sure. I really don't mind," I said with a smile, knowing I wouldn't be sleeping anyway. He smiled at the woman and nodded before she handed me a room key. With a sigh I handed my small bag of clothes to him and walked to the elevator, taking my coat off as I hit the button on it. We both got inside and it took us up a few levels. We got to our floor and looked through, finding the room. I slid the key into the door and it opened. It was a nice hotel, something called a Hilton, but we usually stayed at places with a lot more luxury unless we were camping.

"I can't believe all of this snow in October," I said with a sigh.

"So, Forks does have some surprises then?" he asked with a laugh.

"You're funny," I said sarcastically, snatching my bag from him and tossing it into the closet. It was only one room, but there was a small twin bed and a couch with a television and then a radio. This was going to be a long night.

**A/N: Alright, guys seriously, FAQ page. You need to review for it!! Someone is reviewing more than once to get it, but apparently you don't care. Try and hit the goal this time. I'm lowering it to 8 reviews in one chapter, okay? You can do this. **

**Anyways, wasn't this chappy adorable?? I had so much fun writing it!! Oh, and there's going to be a song, quote, verse, poem line, etc. in each chapter now that ties in. I hope you like that idea!! Oh, Think about what happens in October!! I can't contain it...it starts with an H and ends in -omecoming!! AAAH!! I am so exctied to write the next chapter!!**


	4. Revelations

**A/N: Yay! I have a Beta again! Say hi to Emma everyone. My other Beta disappeared somewhere…I don't know where she went though…anyways. Thanks for the reviews, but you guys need to get up to quota on those so you can have you FAQ page. I don't know if you actually want it now…maybe I should just revoke it and not offer it anymore no matter how many reviews I get…**

_I roll the window down  
and then begin to breathe in  
the darkest country road  
and the strong scent of evergreen  
from the passenger seat as you are driving me home.  
Then looking upwards  
I strain my eyes and try  
to tell the difference between shooting stars and satellites  
from the passenger seat as you are driving me home.  
"Do they collide?"  
I ask and you smile.  
with my feet on the dash  
the world doesn't matter.  
when you feel embarrassed then I'll be your pride  
when you need directions then I'll be the guide  
for all time.  
for all time._

_**Death Cab for Cutie** – Passenger Seat_

* * *

I didn't fall asleep, obviously, and neither did he, which sort of surprised me. I had expected that he'd crash as soon as he lay down, but I was completely wrong, we both stayed up and talked like we'd first met.

"So…tell me about your family," he said with a smirk.

"What do you want to know?" I asked, knowing that I was acting evasive.

"Well, how come you're adopted?" he asked. "I mean what happened to your real parents and why did the Cullens take you in?"

"In all honesty," I began slowly. "I have no clue."

"So…no one ever told you then?" he asked, looking at me from where he sat. The small table in the room had only one chair, which I occupied. He was sitting on top of the bed right next to it, looking at me intently.

"Nope," I said, consciously making a note to ask them again later.

"Why?" he asked.

"I don't know. I always want to know, but they never tell me," I said quietly, fiddling with my fingers on top of the table. His eyes softened when I looked up at him and I couldn't help but smile.

"Sounds like hell," he said. "My family is totally different. We tell each other everything. I mean Keira, Lucy, and Rosy tell each other what underwear they're wearing." I stifled a laugh as his disgusted features turned into a frown. "They know everything about me, including that I'm here…with you…and I'm not supposed to be," he said softly. I looked back up at him.

"You're not supposed to be with me?" I asked warily.

"No…that's why I didn't talk to you at school after that first day. They were angry and for some reason think you and your family have something to do with the murders in Seattle and Port Angeles."

"Why would they think that?" I asked softly, genuinely worried.

"They're crazy," he laughed. "Beyond that…they're hormonal teenagers who have no idea what that want."

"Good point," I said, smiling.

And it went on like that, all night. By the end of the night, I was sitting next to him on the bed, we were both above the covers, but we were lying down. We could definitely be friends; it was obvious. I smiled up at him as he flipped the TV off and the sun came up. We had been watching the news, and according to it, the thin blanket would be melted by noon. It was only about four in the morning. So, that left a few hours to chill in Port Angeles for a while. I rolled off the bed and went towards my bags full of new clothes and grabbed a few things before fleeing into the bathroom and changing quickly. When I came out, he had changed already too.

"So, what do you wanna do today?" he asked with a smirk.

"You choose," I said indifferently. Was I imagining the churning in my stomach when I was around him? He was cute, more beautiful than any mortal, but not as gorgeous as a vampire.

"No more shopping sprees," he said with a laugh.

"Fine by me. I have enough to carry," I said, looking at the shopping bags scattered everywhere. I dropped my dirty clothes into one, not really caring if the new things got dirty. They could be washed. I shook out my blonde hair before running a brush through it quickly and smiling at him, ready to go.

"How about, since the weather people are always wrong, we just go ahead and leave now. It probably already melted back in Forks. It shouldn't be that much of a drive, plus it's so early in the morning, the high way will be empty again and we'll be watching the sunrise," he said with a smirk.

"That's a good idea," I said, smiling at him. "I'm sure my parents practically want to kill me right now too," I sighed, tossing the brush into a bag and stuffing everything into one of the big bags before throwing the empty ones away. He picked up both of our bags easily while I held onto the big shopping bag with everything in it. We walked out to the car and dropped off the room keys at the front desk before getting back into his car, stuffing our stuff in the trunk. I smiled as I pulled on a hoodie and saw my breath as I gave a soft sigh.

"What's wrong?" he asked carefully.

"Well…I'm worried about what will happen when we go back," I said softly.

"What do you mean?"

"I don't want things to go back to the whole no-talking policy between us. Why can't we be friends?"

"If anyone besides Keira knew we'd be in deep trouble," he said. "But I think I can manage. What will your parents say when you get back?"

"They'll ground me forever and never let me see the light of day again," I sighed.

"Well, then we'll hang out at night," he said softly, leaning across the center console to give me a reassuring smile. He put the car in gear and took off down the road.

The roads had melted already, thank goodness. I put my feet up on the dash, shoes off and enjoying the ride. I could smell the scent of evergreen trees and I kept my eyes closed. I gave a soft and content sigh before feeling his hand resting on my thigh. I looked at him and he just shrugged.

"Why fight it?" he asked with a laugh. "I know you like me, Claire," he joked.

"I'd say it's the other way around," I joked back. He smiled and grabbed my hand, pulling it up on the center console. He held it there for a few seconds looking at it, as though taking in every curve and facet in the skin. I sighed. His skin was so beautifully warm and soft, unlike my hard and cold skin. He dropped my hand on the console and put both hands on the wheel again, looking at the road with a hard glance. I was confused, but didn't say anything as he kept driving.

A few hours passed and we finally pulled into the limits of Forks. He drove up to my house and stopped the car. When I went to get out, he got out too. I gave him a glance that clearly stated that he should be gone, but he shook his head. He placed his comforting hand on my shoulder and we climbed the stairs to the front porch. He knocked on the door, his hand still on my shoulder protectively. I felt the wind gently stir my blonde hair and looked up at him with worried eyes. My mother appeared at the door, her expression worried until her eyes fell upon me.

"Claire-Bear!" she screamed, throwing open the screen door and rushing out, pulling me into a strong hug that practically choked me. She released me and looked me over and I could practically hear her sniffing the air for anything dangerousI could have been around. She looked up at Caleb, her expression turning to anger.

"What are you doing here? Why did you take my daughter so late last night?" she asked angrily. I looked at her and placed my hands on her shoulders.

"Mom, calm down," I said soothingly. I looked past her to see Jasper and Alice standing behind her. I gave Jasper a wink and he immediately went to work, but I could see the gears in Alice's head turning as she took in the scent of him. What was everyone's problem with a guy having a dog lately?

My mother took a deep breath and was okay again. I looked pleadingly at Caleb and he took a step forward. Alice flinched and stood up immediately, Jasper looking at her with confusion as he finished calming my mother.

"Mrs. Cullen, I saw her walking late last night and I needed someone to talk to so we went for a drive. By the time we were calmed down, the snow had begun falling and I wasn't going to risk your daughter's life in such weather conditions," he said sincerely. I almost laughed at how real it sounded. It was perfectly done, almost rehearsed. My mother pursed her lips and looked at him, her gaze hard and cold.

"Well, she's safe now. Thank you for bringing her home. I'm sure your guardians are worried about you, so you should get home," she said, her voice strong. I was tempted to say, _Way to go, Mom,_ but seeing as it was Caleb, it was a completely different story. He nodded and said a soft goodbye to me before my mother ushered me inside, sitting me down on the couch.

"Bella, hold on," Alice said just as my mother was about to open her mouth to say something. Alice's gaze fell upon me and I wondered what was wrong.

"Alice, stop looking at me like that," I said nervously, shifting my weight as I sat.

"Claire, do you know who that boy was? Do you know what he is?" Alice asked me angrily. I shook my head, running a hand through my blonde hair.

"All I know is that his name is Caleb, and he has a sister and then some cousins. He's a nice guy who likes me and I like him and we're good friends. He's been there for me when I couldn't turn to you guys and he's never hurt me, nor do I think he ever will," I said angrily.

"No, Claire, he is a werewolf. I could smell that scent pouring off of him. Bella can't tell because she's never smelled it with the senses she has. Edward couldn't tell because he was in a different room, receiving it at a low intensity. Carlisle, Edward, and I are the only ones who know the scent of a werewolf right off the bat, and that boy had it pouring from every pore in his body. Claire, he could have killed you, that's what they're built for. I'm sure he already knows what your are, seeing as it's not hard to recognize us if you know enough," she said, her voice completely freaked out.

"Alice, do you have any idea how insane you sound right now?" I asked with a laugh. "We're the only living myths in Forks."

"Claire…there are werewolves. I've seen them," my mother said, her eyes worried. "I thought Jacob and his group were the only pack in the…well the world. Apparently there are some in England. I don't know why they would have come here though," she said with a sigh. I looked at her, my eyes completely talking for me.

"The missing persons and the attacks in Port Angeles and in Seattle," Alice said, reading our gazes. Jasper had remained quiet the entire time. "What do you think, honey?" Alice asked, looking at him with worried eyes.

"He knew. His emotions were scared and worried. He knew that you knew, too," he said to Alice. She waited for a second, thinking about what he said, seeing as it was rather confusing, and then nodded.

"Yeah," she said worriedly. "We forbid you to see him anymore, except at school, because you can't really help that," she finished, a note of finality in her voice.

"That's not fair!" I yelled.

"We'll see when your father hears about this," Bella said. "Right now you're in trouble for running away last night. Go to your room now!" I groaned and let my eyes roll before storming up the stairs and opening the door to my room, walking in, and slamming it behind me. I threw myself on the bed, and let a few dry sobs heave through my body before looking up from my pillow. There was a note next to my face and I grabbed it, rolling over so I could actually read it.

_Claire, I could hear the fight from my car. Everything is true, but I didn't know you were…well, you know. I guess this complicates things. I don't know what to do right now. Call my cell, my number is on the back of the paper. I'm worried about you. If my family finds out that you really are what they thought you were, then you'll be in trouble. Please tell me that no one in your family is killing those innocent people. I don't want to have to reprimand you or anyone you love._

_-Caleb._

I looked at the note, surprise rushing through me like the Mississippi River. It was true…and he knew about me now too. Well, what was meant to be something to wake me up only gave him more information. I looked over at the flip-side of the paper and read the number. I put it into my contacts, but didn't call it. I was still too surprised. I looked over at the bags by my window. They were the shopping bags that I had forgotten in his car. I gave a weak laugh before grabbing them and emptying them and putting everything into the drawers.

This had definitely turned out to be a surprising day.

* * *

**A/N: Alright, schools out, so I'll be updating way more than I was, but zero times a number is still zero, but let me tell ya, like once a week I will be updating, you can count on that. I am so sorry that it took this long though! Please don't hate me…or throw pointy things at me.**


	5. What Is Love?

**A/N: Oh my gosh, I feel like a horrible person. I didn't update all summer!! I am soooooo sorry. You can't grasp how apologetic I am right now…I got caught up in my own story and I just worked and worked on that…but I will be updating more…I hope. I can't make very good promises…as you can see, but I can attempt to do so.**I wanna show you just how fascinating kissing is 

_When earth collides with all the space between._

_I'm reaching farther than I ever have before,_

_Leaving all who broke your heart upon the shore._

_I may be some sort of crazy, we may be some sort of crazy,_

_But I swear on everything I have and more._

…

_You make the sound of pulling heaven down._

_You brought the rain's romantic pour._

**Blue October – **Sound of Pulling Heaven Down.

* * *

I sat up as the door to the classroom opened. Caleb entered the one class he and I shared. He sat in the desk next to mine and a smirk lit his features almost immediately. I felt the air around me stir with his scent as he inhaled deeply, grimacing slightly before relaxing again as I did. I struggled to hold in a snort of laughter. It had been two weeks since I had found out what he was. Sadly, we still weren't used to the scents. I was sneaking out a lot lately to see him at night. We would just sit and talk, not much more than that. Usually we went to a park deep in the woods where we would just sit, explain things. He was angry when I told him that my family refused to tell me my past. I had no idea why…but it was starting to bother me too.

Of course, at school, it was a completely different story. When I snuck out I couldn't really be too close to him or my family would immediately smell it on me. At school I could be as close as I wanted without having to worry about getting in trouble. That was getting to be the best part of school, I had to admit. My free hand, the one that wasn't holding up my head, was sitting on the table. Immediately, his hand fell on top of mine and traced every curve of it with his fingertips. He was so gentle about it. I didn't understand why, seeing as I was probably stronger than him when he was only in a human form, but he was still so incredibly gentle. I breathed a sigh of relief. It was wonderful to be around him.

I glanced up as I heard the teacher begin her lecture. I lifted my head and took my pen, doodling aimlessly on the front page of my spiral. He smiled next to me and released my hand, grabbing the notebook when I lifted the pen for only a second.

"Doodling in class, Miss Cullen, I might just have to confiscate this," he said in a low whisper. I heard the teacher say something and then my name and I looked up, my mind immediately scanning hers.

"A run-on sentence can be fixed with a comma and conjunction, be spilt into two sentences, or have a semi-colon inserted," I said in a monotone voice. The teacher nodded and went back to talked as she turned back to the board.

"Give it back," I muttered angrily.

"Hmm…I don't think I will," he said jokingly.

"Come on, Caleb. You can't be serious," I said, my face hardening, my lips going into a straight line. His perfect gray eyes met mine, and his smile made my self-control waver as I smiled at him. "No fair," I muttered under my breath.

"Perfectly fair," he said, lifting my face with his hand. I could see a group of girls from another table looking right at us, murmuring something about boyfriend and girlfriend. Their thoughts were consumed with different fantasies of Caleb and I grimaced in jealousy and anger. I pulled my face form his hand, and, in a very quick movement, had my notebook again. I saw abruptly his confused and slightly hurt face. His hand touched my shoulder, then traced the contour of my shoulder blade and then down my spine. "What's wrong?" he whispered. I almost melted at his touch. Had I looked at him, I would have. But I remained in control.

"Nothing," I said darkly. Those girls and their incessant thoughts would not shut up, and it was making me horribly angry. Caleb and I had never kissed. We'd never really done anything but talk and occasionally have some sort of contact, like how he had touched my back not two seconds ago. Holding hands was an occasional thing, but kissing was something we never even talked about. We weren't even in a relationship really, though so many people in the school seemed to think so. We were…sort-of-boyfriend-and-girlfriend. I don't know how else I could possibly put that. Those girls and their thoughts of making out (and things much more despicable than that) were driving me insane with jealousy.

"Something is bothering you, Claire, what is it?" he asked softly. The backs of his fingers traced down my arm, touching the bare pale skin there under my short-sleeved shirt. I sighed and let my head fall onto his shoulder. It was too hard trying to fight him. He could be too persuasive.

"I have a jealousy problem," I said with a smirk. He looked at me with shock.

"Jealous? Of what?" he asked, looking around the room.

"When I have to see certain people's thoughts," I said, grimacing again as those girls' internal babbling about relationships picked up again. I had told him not long ago about reading minds and all those things. I had to tell him to make split second decisions to block out Alice. Our sneaking out was a lot more complicated than most teenagers had it. But, where was the fun without a little adventure?

"Oh," he said softly. We passed the rest of the period talking quietly to each other and I kept my head on his shoulder. He didn't mind at all and I, of course, didn't. When the bell finally rang, I heaved a sigh and stood up. His hand slid into mine easily and gracefully and our fingers interlaced together like it was instinct. By now, it really was. I smiled up at him, glad as we left the classroom together. He walked me to my next class and ran his hand through my hair, tucking the strand behind my ear before letting me leave patting my rear end as I left, causing me to let out a laugh as I entered my Algebra II class. Morgan looked at me as though I was insane when she saw how much I was laughing.

"How was English?" she asked, nudging my elbow as soon as I sat down. I rolled my eyes at her and looked at her with a slight glare.

"Fine," I said through gritted teeth. She laughed at me again and I pretended to take notes. The class went by quickly and when I got up to go to lunch, he was already waiting in the hallway, his hand going around my waist as he guided me into the cafeteria. I looked at him in confusion; this wasn't the normal type of contact.

"Why fight it?" he asked with a smirk, reiterating the words he had spoken in the car two weeks ago. I smiled at him and then rolled my eyes as his hand slid away form me and grabbed two trays from the pile as we got in line. Morgan was behind me, watching with intensity, ready to gush out every bit of information she could decode as something great. I smiled, realizing just how silly she could be sometimes. She hated that I never had boyfriends when I was so pretty.

We got out of the line and he was still carrying my tray. By the time we got to our normal table he dropped both of them next to each other. Morgan, though my best friend, had taken to leaving us alone at lunch. I had no idea why, but she did recently. With a sigh and looked at the food on my plate and pushed it forward.

"You shouldn't waste your parents' money, you anorexic freak," he joked playfully. I smiled at him, elbowing him playfully in the ribs. It was gentle on my part. He feigned to be hurt before smiling back at me again. I looked across the cafeteria to see Keira looking at us over and over again. She seemed to be distracting the others from looking over to us at the same time. I had only met Keira a few times and I liked her already. She was definitely protective though, which I thought was hilarious. "So, what made you so angry in English…I mean…jealous…of thoughts. What in the world could they be thinking?" he asked with a smile. I stood and grabbed his hand wrenching him towards the doors of the cafeteria. We were leaving lunch so incredibly early. Oh well. I smiled as he took the lead and led me into one of the back hallways.

"What? Were you thinking what I was?" I asked jokingly.

"I have been for a while now. God, I'm glad you can't read my mind," he said in a tone that sounded how grateful he was. I smiled at him and jumped into his arms and he caught me immediately, spinning me around and then putting me back on the ground, his hands staying on my hips, just resting there as his gray eyes met my blue ones. We both seemed to be a little lost right now. I, on one hand, had never kissed a boy, not in my memory at least. I could have in my human life, but who knows about that. My eyelashes fluttered. Why the hell did I do that? Oh well. He smiled at me and raised one hand to touch the side of my cheek.

"Are we actually going to try this?" he asked as I grabbed his hand in one of m hands and held it to my cheek. The warmth flooded through me and it felt so good. It was addictive. No doubt Alice was watching this right now and ready to come to the school and kill me.

"If we don't, we'll never be able to. Odds are, someone's coming to get me right now," I groaned, but still smiling as his warmth fueled me, completed me. It was an odd feeling. For some reason I felt like I lived for him.

"Claire, do you know what imprinting is?" he asked shyly. I recalled my mother mentioning it when she talked about her past a lot. It was something I thought was ridiculous. After Jacob Black and his pack had moved away and I never met them, we never spoke of werewolves, until now at least. Either way, I knew exactly what imprinting was.

"Yes," I said. Had I been able to blush, my cheeks would have been a vibrant red right now.

"I think it happened…" he muttered softly, letting his head fall as his lips pressed to my neck. I felt a shiver roll up and down my spine as I released his hand and felt my fingers touch his perfect hair and then tangle themselves there. The warmth of his lips, the want of them, made me want, and I grabbed his face with my free hand and pulled it towards mine until our lips were pressed together. I angled my face as he moved his. It was instinctive. I knew that much. His body pressed to mine, closing the small amount of space as my back hit the brick wall of the hallway. I could feel everything but him fall away from my life. I didn't care about the trouble I would be in. I didn't care that I could hear the roar of Emmet's truck enter the parking lot at that precise moment. My eyes closed and his hand pressed against the wall, sealing me there with him. And I didn't care. If it was possible for me to have a problem with imprinting, I knew I had found my soul mate. There could be no one else, mortal or vampire.

This went so far against nature.

But I kept kissing him.

I kept loving every second of it.

And you know what?

I loved every part of him.

When I finally felt him pull away for lack of air, I smiled at him and moved my hand from his hair. He inhaled sharply and looked at me, his eyes tender, soft, perfect.

"They're coming," we both said at the same time.

"You should go," he whispered. Alice knew as soon as I got jealous that I had made my decision to kiss him. She knew everything that had been happening. She had been covering for me. She knew that the way I felt about him was just as strong as how she felt as Jasper. She knew I was in love before I knew.

"I think…I…I think I love you," I said softly, touching his cheek again.

"Me too. Now go, please. I don't want you to get into any trouble."

"They know already," I said softly.

"Go," he pleaded. I sighed and then heard the bell dismissing lunch. A smile creased my lips as I walked into the crowd pouring from lunch and he fell in not far behind me. I walked to the entryway and saw my father and Emmet standing there. My father was livid, my uncle amused. He knew my rebellious love of danger was something I picked up from him.

"Car, now," said my father. I nodded and walked away, shielding my mind from my father. He didn't need to know what I had just said to Caleb. Like my father, though, when someone was angry at me, I became angry as well. I climbed into the passenger seat of the silver Volvo and watched my uncle, who smiled at me reassuringly, get easily into his Jeep. I smirked back at him and shook my head.

My father slid into the driver's seat and slid the key easily into the ignition of the car and pulled out of the space quickly. I saw a blue viper rev its engine in the parking lot and couldn't suppress a smile. Caleb deliberately cut my father off as he tried to pull out of the school lot. I smiled as Caleb winked at me from him window and then sped off down the road, the opposite way to my house.

"Damn dog," my father murmured. I looked at him with a livid expression, my arms crossed over my chest.

"Claire. How dare you do something like that. When Alice told me you were about to kiss him I practically…actually I did rip the door off while I was leaving," he said in a perfect monotone and emotionless voice. I glared at him again. "You're grounded again. For the rest of the school year. Emmet and Rosalie will be driving you to and from school and you're living with Carlisle and Esme. Your room will be watched constantly. You won't be able to sneak out at all."

"But dad!" I almost screamed. He threw one hand up to stop me short, his palm up in the shape of a stop sign. I glared at it and closed my mouth again.

"You think that's bad. If he comes anywhere near our house or any member of that pack family of his we will hurt them. Claire I'm serious. He's no good for you. He wants you for information that's it. He thinks we're responsible for the killings in Port Angeles."

"Shut up," I said harshly. He looked at me with incredulous eyes and I knew I had over stepped a boundary. I hadn't put on my seat belt. No one in our family ever wore them anymore. I pulled the lock up on the door and opened it, jumping out of the speeding car. We were safely away from any people now and I wasn't worried about anyone seeing me land perfectly on my feet and sprint into the woods.

"Claire Rebekah Cullen, get your butt back here now," I heard my father yell behind me. I shouted out a profane phrase and heard his anger as he sped off towards the house. As soon as I got a mile back into Forks I stopped in the middle of the woods and sat down on the grass. I was on a mountain, in a clearing. There was a little pond there. I smiled and rolled onto my side, propping my body up on one elbow which also was holding up my head. I smiled and howled as loudly as I could, laughing at myself when I finished. Then I could hear the howl from someone else not too far away. I smiled and sat up, looking around as the trees shifted and a body slid gracefully between them and rushed towards me. I stood quickly and he grabbed me up in his arms and spun me around, laughing.

"I can't believe you just did that. I told you not to get into trouble and you tell something like that to your father and jump out of a moving car…Claire, what am I going to do with you?" he asked, smiling at me as he set me back down. I pursed my lips.

"Well, you can take me somewhere where my family can't go, like your house. I think Alice…my mom…Esme…Rosalie…Emmet and Jasper are combing the forest for me. My father is at Carlisle's house…Carlisle is trying to calm him down," I said, scanning the area for the thoughts around me. He sighed and slid his hand into mine.

"Alright, just keep up," he said with a laugh.

"Oh, believe me, I will," I joked and then was gone. I was running fast and gracefully through the forest towards his house. I knew where it was. I had been there before. It wasn't a terribly difficult place for me to find either. His hand fell from mine and I looked to see that he couldn't keep up with me. I laughed and just kept going until I was standing in his front yard. Not three seconds later, he was at my side, but his face was unreadable and hard.

"Claire, go home now," he said in a monotone voice. I was instantly taken aback.

"What? Why?" I asked, feeling like I had just been shocked with a cattle prod.

"I didn't know my uncle was home," he said, glaring at the window closest to us. And then I heard it. A great ripping noise split the air around me and then a horrible crash. Emmet appeared at my side and I saw Caleb shudder into a pure white shape of a giant wolf. I shrunk back and fell against Emmet's chest. The great black wolf and the great white one were glaring at each other. Caleb, the pure snowy white one, was smaller but clearly faster. The older one, the black one, apparently Caleb's uncle, rushed him too fast though and Caleb fell, the black wolf on top of him. I could hear thoughts raging in the uncle's head.

_How could you bring her here. Your thoughts say you love her! How dare you! You wretched child. She's a leech. You ungrateful pup! How could you imprint upon her? _His thoughts shouted at me. I shrank back against Emmet's hard stone body and I looked up at him. I could hear the thrashing about of the black wolf as it snapped over and over again.

"Do something," I pleaded with him. He stopped, seeing the fear and sadness in my blue eyes. He looked at the fight in front of us and then he was gone. Esme and Rosalie got there then and Rosalie immediately got into the fray as both she and Emmet fired themselves at the black one with the force of a hurricane and sent him into the brick wall, but he was up again. I looked at Caleb and saw his bleeding form as he fell back into his human form. I ran to him, throwing of Esme who was attempting to restrain me.

"Caleb," I said softly, afraid to touch him in case I hurt him more. My hands sort of hovered over his form. There was a cut above his right eye and numerous on his arms and shoulders where the claws had dug into him. The worst by far was the bleeding gash in his side though. He coughed and I felt dry sobbing rack through my body.

"I'm okay, babe," he said, coughing again.

"No you're not!" I argued angrily.

"Go with your family…you should have seen this."

"No…" I objected, my voice a whisper. I could clearly hear Emmet and Rosalie grappling with the wolf just ten feet in front of me but I didn't care. Alice got there then and knelt down beside me. She stopped seeing him.

"Claire, go with Esme. Carlisle and I will take care of him," she said softly, her voice incredibly fast and high.

"No," I objected, my voice angry as though she had suggested I kill someone.

"Claire…go. Maybe you haven't noticed he's naked." I froze, forcing my eyes not to look. Had I, once again, been able to blush, my cheeks would have been crimson. I fell backwards. I hadn't noticed. Why did Alice have to point it out? I heard footsteps behind me and saw the beautiful Keira behind me. She tossed a blanked onto her cousin and stepped back.

"Your father is a doctor. He'll know what to do. Call off your leech friends. We'll take care of my uncle from here," she said silently as she looked towards the front door. I followed her eyes to where Clark, Lucy, Rose, and Micah in the doorway. Immediately they were all eyes for their uncle and Clark and Micah changed. Rosalie and Emmet jumped out of their way as the two wolves, one a steely gray and the other a deep brown, ran the old black one into the woods.

Carlisle was there in an instant as the three other werewolves took off. I caught sight of only their tails as they went. Keira's a silver, Rose's a reddish brown, and Lucy was a light tan. Carlisle and Edward were busy immediately. Both were certifiable doctors and they lifted Caleb's form, wrapped in the blanket, and disappeared. Immediately I was angry. I rose to my feet and felt restraining hands grab my arms, pulling me back. I turned to see Alice and Rosalie there.

"Let me go!" I roared.

"No, Claire, we want to talk to you first," Rosalie objected. "We need you to tell us a few things…but only if you promise to tell us something in return."

"What could you possibly tell me that is more important than getting to Caleb?" I asked in anger, throwing their arms off of me and turning to face them. I knew my eyes were black now and I was hungry. It had been a while since my last time hunting…over two weeks, and I knew that. I needed something to eat soon.

"Your past," Alice said dropping her hands at her side. I froze, my face blank and expressionless. That was definitely something I would want to know.

Rosalie let go of me and Alice followed suit. I dropped my hands at my side.

"It can wait, I need to see if Caleb's okay," I said under my breath.

"Carlisle has him. He'll be fine," Alice said quietly. "I know that. As soon as the two of them decided to help he became okay." I nodded. I still wanted to see him and I was contemplating running. I was faster than them…but I didn't.

"Okay, fine," I said, crossing my arms over my chest. I looked at Alice and her mind ran through everything…the day I had been found, dying, on the streets in London. Carlisle saved me. I glanced at Rosalie and saw what had happened before that, the men running form the scene, leaving my bent and broken body there. I saw Emmet tear after them and then closed my eyes, blocking everything that was coming from them.

"I was…raped," I said under my breath. I felt a hand on my shoulder and my head snapped up like a deer in the headlights. It was Alice and her eyes were worried.

"Now I need you to tell me something," she said in complete seriousness.

"What?" I asked pathetically.

"Do you love him?" she asked. I took a step back, wiggling out of her grip and nodded slowly before sprinting off in the direction of their scents. It wasn't long until I reached the hospital.

* * *

**A/N: Yay!! I made up for it with a rather long chapter, I think…okay, well review and I fully expect to be yelled at for my non-promptness. I am sooooo sorry again!! **


	6. Waiting Rooms

**A/N: In order to make up for lost time, I want to get a few chapters in there kind of rapid fire…anyway…the last one I wrote in a day…this one I began on the same day…we'll see how long it takes to write…FYI…this is one of my absolute favorite songs right here!!**

_And it came to me then that every plan  
Is a tiny prayer to father time  
As I stared at my shoes in the ICU  
That reeked of piss and 409  
And I rationed my breaths as I said to myself  
That I've already taken too much today  
As each descending peak on the LCD  
Took you a little farther away from me  
Away from me_

_Amongst the vending machines and year-old magazines  
In a place where we only say goodbye  
It stung like a violent wind that our memories depend  
On a faulty camera in our minds  
And I knew that you were a truth I would rather lose  
Than to have never lain beside at all  
And I looked around at all the eyes on the ground  
As the TV entertained itself_

_'Cause there's no comfort in the waiting room  
Just nervous faces bracing for bad news  
And then the nurse comes 'round and everyone lift their heads  
But I'm thinking of what Sarah said  
That love is watching someone die_

_So who's gonna watch you die? So who's gonna watch you die_

**Death Cab For Cutie** – What Sarah Said

* * *

I inhaled sharply as I stood in the waiting room. Carlisle was next to me and I could hear a few whispers that I recognized coming from room thirteen, where Caleb and my father were at the moment.

"Is he going to be okay?" I asked Carlisle for the thousandth time. He nodded, glancing at my face, his expression slightly amused. I fell down into one of the chairs and, in less than five minutes, was pacing again, my arms crossed against my chest. I sigh rolled out of my body as I walked towards the door and wrenched it open. They had kept their voices to low murmurs so I wouldn't hear. It made me angry. I stepped in and placed my hands on my hips. They both stopped in mid-sentence. Apparently this was some very heated debate. I glared at my father and then my eyes fell on Caleb. He looked so tired, so weak. His gray eyes were still so bright though. I walked towards him, ignoring the protests of my father, and sat down on the edge of his bed as I felt his arms curl around my waist, pulling me towards him. I smiled.

"As I was saying, Mr. Cullen, I love her. Why else would I have risked my life and the life of my family members?" Caleb asked rhetorically. I smiled again and leaned down to kiss the top of his head. I glanced at my father, noticing his displeasure. That was when I first noticed my mother sitting in a chair in the corner. I sighed. She was looking at me with an expression that clearly said she was glad I disobeyed her.

"Imprinting isn't always love," my father objected. Caleb sat up instantly, his hands coming off of me.

"Yes, well, then next time I kiss my sister or cousin like I kissed Claire today you can tell me it's not love for me," Caleb said sarcastically. I saw my father's face turn into a grimace.

"Why can't I read his mind, Claire?" Edward asked, turning to look at me.

"I told you I couldn't…the day I met him," I said softly, watching Caleb lay back down as my fingertips traced the contours of his hair. He was perfect, perfect in every way. I could see Caleb try to hide his smile.

"You've known him for only a few weeks, Claire…you can't love him," my mother objected.

"She does," my father said simply. I looked up. He rarely ever read my mind, but he did now…seeing as it was unprotected right now due to the fact that I wasn't blaring a song in my mind to keep him out. I inhaled sharply and pulled my knees up on the bed, resting my chin on top of them. A sigh escaped my lips and I felt Caleb's comforting hand on my back, tracing my spine like he had done in class today.

My father was right, I had only known him for a few weeks. It's pretty impossible to fall in love in that short of a time. Of course, werewolves found it almost immediately and that made me a little curious. Vampires were selfish…we always wanted love. So…for both of us, it was purely possible. I smiled, realizing that there was nothing wrong with us. Us…it sounded really nice.

"Dad…is that necessary?" I asked angrily, realizing for a second that he was seeing everything I was thinking right now…including just how amazing that kiss today was. It was a little aggravating knowing that he knew how in love we both probably were…if we were.

"Yes, it is. I'm not judging by what you tell me, I'm judging by your thoughts…they're the exact same thoughts I had when I first fell in love with your mother, I think," he said, smiling. Wow…he smiled. I smiled back, too.

"Anyway, Mr. And Mrs. Cullen, basically what I'm trying to say is that Claire and I are perfect for each other. So I am asking your permission now. Is it okay for us to date?" Caleb asked. I looked at him incredulously. There were no lies in his words. I was shocked, though, that he would ask them without asking me first.

"No," my father repeated. I stood instinctively, reflexively.

"Dad!" I shouted angrily. I heard the LCD for the first time as the beeping momentarily slowed and the room quieted. I glanced at Caleb out of reflex and saw he was fine before turning back on my father.

"Claire, he's a werewolf!"

"He saved my life!" I yelled.

"You know a full grown one could easily tear me apart. Emmet wasn't there in time either. It would have taken his uncle two seconds!"

"Claire, I said no," my father said, staying firm.

"Fine…we'll have to keep sneaking around behind your back then! You can't stop me from going to school and seeing him there!" Suddenly a nurse walked in and I glanced at the door.

"Excuse me, but the patient needs rest…can I ask all but one visitor leave," she suggested.

"Claire, stay," Caleb insisted. I watched as my father left and my mother stood, walking towards me and kissing the top of my head.

"I'll talk to him," she promised, smiling at me. I nodded and smiled back at her as I watched her exit the room. The nurse went to work adding more sedatives that Carlisle had expertly measured from his previous work with werewolves a long time ago. I watched as she added more to the bag of fluids hanging up. I smiled and went to slide off the bed and sit in the chair so he would be more comfortable, but an arm wound around my waist, keeping me from moving.

"Stay here," he said, sounding a little groggy. I grimaced as I saw all the needles sticking into his body. According to Carlisle he was wearing a pair of sweatpants and no shirt, and I didn't mind. He sat up and leaned against the back of the bed. I could clearly mark out the muscled chest he had, it was obvious, right there in front of me. Tanned and perfect skin stretched over a six-pack and a to-die-for pair of pecs. I smiled and touched his chest, letting my hands feel the contours until they reached the bandage there. It was soaked with blood. To any vampire the scent of werewolf blood is the most unappetizing thing in the world. But I was starving and there was blood right in front of me, blood that reminded me of the nurse standing not far away. Alice entered the room then and grabbed my hand.

"Caleb, we're taking Claire to go get something to eat. We'll have her back in a jiffy," she promised, towing me through the door. I sighed as we got out and then the scents of all of the humans here hit me like a wrecking ball and I was almost undone. I knew Alice's restraining hands were right at my back and I could see Emmet behind me from my peripheral vision. I submitted and they pulled me outside.

I walked back into the hospital, wiping the last traces of moose from my mouth and wiping it on my jeans. Oh well, bloodstains were frequent with our family. I was still on edge and I made my way hurriedly to Caleb's room and went inside. He was struggling to stay awake and, as soon as I entered the door, he relaxed. I smiled and him and walked over to the bed and sat down. I smiled and ran a hand through his hair.

"Go to sleep," I said in a whisper.

"Only if you lay here with me." I sighed, smiling and laid down next to him, feeling his arm wrap around my body protectively and then pull me closer to him. His warmth was incredible, unlike anything I knew. I stared at the wall and let my breathing quicken to match his as he drifted into unconsciousness. There were two sounds that I never let myself miss: the LCD monitor and the sound of his breathing. If he died…which it was improbable that he would, though the wound would have killed a human on the spot, I would be the first to alert Carlisle. Each peak that the LCD made was like sitting on the edge of your seat in a horror movie. You know something is about to happen, the heroine is about to be murdered, but you still wait for it, knowing it's coming, but needing that proof. I was ill at ease the entire time. On occasion I would be more alert, when the LCD slowed to the heart rate of a human or the peaks became lower. On those occasions I would listen to only his heartbeat until everything returned t normal. I hadn't realized how I knew his functions so well…I had never thought about it, but my mind had seemed to record every action of his, even his regular heartbeat.

It seemed like hours where he slept and I kept guard over his mortality. Then my father entered again and I sat up, Caleb's arm falling off of my waist and onto my lap. He didn't wake up and I wasn't all that surprised. I was on top of the blankets, Caleb under. He couldn't complain, could he? My father looked at me, his golden eyes stirring as I scooted back to lean against the headboard. He looked at his shoes and pressed his long fingers to his temples, massaging his head. I felt like I was about to be lectured.

"Claire, his family is here, you need to get out, plus we need to speak with you," he said quietly. I nodded and slipped out of Caleb's arm and letting my feet hit the floor before walking out of the room at a human pace. My father followed me out, but not as fast as I would have expected. I wandered into his thoughts only to hear the sound of the Ave Maria being translated into sign language. Miffed, I walked to the chair in the waiting room and flopped down between Alice and Jasper. Jasper, I could tell, went to work and soothed my nerves, but there was no comfort there for me. I was too on an edge and my "powers" were starting to go a little haywire. I could see lights flickering when I walked by them. It wasn't good for that to happen. Even now, as I sat beneath one of the fluorescent lights, I could feel the light being pulled to me. Angry, I tried to concentrate on something else as I watched Keira, Rose, Lucy, Clark, and Micah enter the hospital room.

"What?" I asked my father expectantly as I kept my ears and mind trained to what was behind the hospital door.

"He loves her," I heard Keira say softly. I could the murmurs of assent from the others. As soon as Caleb turned into a wolf as well as the other males in his family, they all would have known exactly what he was thinking.

"He imprinted," Lucy continued. Again I sighed, waiting for my father to compose himself. I ignored the other room for now, listening to the LCD monitor behind the door to make sure his heart kept beating. Other than that, my full attention was on my family.

"Claire, you love him, I know that now. You're willing to risk your life for him and we can see that in your every action," Alice said softly, placing one of her tiny hands on my shoulder. I shrugged it off immediately.

"Claire, he's a werewolf. He's an enemy. More than likely his family is here to kill ours," my father said slowly. I let that sink in. Once again, it was purely possible. It made me angry, though, that for a moment, I second-guessed Caleb. I froze and my eyes turned to the door as his family walked out, all but Keira. She looked at me and nodded her head in the direction of the room.

"We'll talk about it later, Edward. Let her go," Carlisle said. I smiled at my grandfather and went to the room as Keira held the door open for me and then closed it behind me. Caleb was still in a very, very deep sleep. Keira smiled at me as I sat down on the bed next to Caleb and touched his hair softly.

"You love him, then?" she asked, smiling.

"I do," I admitted sheepishly. This was harder than I had expected…talking to someone who I barely knew, who had such an impact on Caleb's life, who could truly influence his decision, and to admit that I loved him straight to her face…it was a lot of pressure to undergo at the moment. Especially considering everything I had been through, today, it was hard not to be nervous. Keira was someone I wanted to be on the good side of. I knew that much.

"Good, because he lives for you now. Imprinting is…impossible to fight. Believe me when I say that he will always love you now. He lives for you and he breathes for you and, as you saw today, he's perfectly ready and willing to die for you," she said, looking at her hands.

"Has it happened to you?" I asked before I could stop myself. I saw a bright crimson color stain her cheeks immediately.

"Yes, it has," she said, smiling at me. "I had to leave him when we came to America though. He's waiting for me…he loves me and I love him. We're being married formally at the end of the school year here. He's flying in to get married in Forks. Of course, that's beside the point. What I need to talk to you about is why…why everything is happening so fast." I stopped and scooted backwards, feeling Caleb's warm body against my back. He stirred lightly, and, as though in instinct, his arm curled around my waist. I smiled in spite of myself.

"What is happening?" I asked, raising my eyebrows at her in confusion.

"Like what happened today…why our family came here…what's going on with the murders in Port Angeles," she said, her face growing somber. "We know it's one of your kind doing it. We aren't thick…we know what it is…the badly disposed of corpses…bodies scarred beyond recognition. It has to be a vampire. Then again, we know it's not your family. We've been trailing your family for a little while now, always at a safe enough distance to not be seen or smelled…we know you eat only animals. Then that brings up who could possibly be doing this. Does your coven have any ideas?"

"We're almost sure it's a rogue. Most likely it's also someone new to this life…someone untrained. You should talk to Carlisle about it though…he knows far better than I do," I admitted, looking at Caleb's serene face. I wished I could know what he was dreaming about, but his mind was inaccessible to me. I smiled though, and touched the side of his face with my cold hand. I saw him smile in his sleep.

"Carlisle? He's the doctor, correct? The leader and the one who saved my brother," she said, smiling as she recalled the very handsome doctor who stood outside, a man who was forever twenty-three. "I'll be right back. Oh…and I should think he might be waking up soon…he was terrible about the whole sedatives thing…they never keep him asleep for more than a few minutes." I smiled at her and watched her leave. When the door slammed behind her, I felt a body stir next to me and I smiled.

"Morning, sunshine," I said, turning around to look at him.

"Morning, yourself," he said, smiling at me. He looked refreshed, that was for sure. I smiled at him and touched his cheek with my cold hand again, running the back of my fingertips across his warm, sweet face. She smiled and grabbed my hand, pulling it towards his face and inhaling the scent of me. He smiled.

"It doesn't burn the hair in my nose anymore. In fact…I kind of like it…it's like kiwi. I always loved kiwi when I was a kid," he joked. I could hear the small slurs in his words. He was so tired…so drugged right now. I smiled at him, suppressing my snort of laughter as I leaned over him, one hand on each side of his neck and leaned down to kiss him. His hand, which was all covered in different IVs, reached up to cradle my face as I watched his eyes close again. Mine closed too. I smiled against his lips, laughing a bit and he did the same before we both pulled away at the sound of a cough in the doorway. It was Emmet.

"I…uh…wanted to thank you for saving my niece when I wasn't there in time," he said, scratching the back of his head as he tried to find the right words and keep the situation from being too awkward. I laughed at him and fell onto the bed next to Caleb, who, with ease, pulled me against his warm body and turned on his side, pressing his warm lips to my back where my halter-top didn't cover. I shivered and felt him smile as he released me and let me sit up again.

"No problem. Emmet right?" he asked, sitting up as well. I flinched to push him back down when I saw him wince in pain, but something told me not to stop him. I knew his healing process was quick, that he would be fine in a relatively short amount of time.

"Yeah, Emmet," said my uncle, smiling. "Now…you kids weren't about to do anything inappropriate, were you? I mean this is a hospital…it may be full of beds but there's too many people…Rose and I had that problem once back in the day when we came to visit Carlisle back when we were living in Denali…see we were about to," he stopped, seeing that I hand my hands over my ears. I could hear his thunderous laugh as he rolled his eyes. I pulled my hands away. "Sorry, Kiddo. I guess you don't want to hear that much about your aunt and uncle."

"Never in my life do I need to know things like that!" I practically shouted at him, grabbing one of my shoes and flinging it at him, which he dodged easily as it bounced out the door and was picked up by my mother. She smiled and shook her head, walking back into the room.

"I like him," Emmet said with a smile.

"Out," my mother said with a roll of her eyes. Emmet smirked and left as my mother dropped the shoe at the foot of the bed where my other one was. She sat down in one of the chairs and looked at us both, her hands folded in her lap. "Claire…your father and I and Carlisle just spoke with Keira…I think she said he name was…and we decided it would be…more prudent for the two of you to not sneak out anymore. We want you to stop going behind everyone's backs and we're letting you date, but there are conditions," she said, holding up her hand when she saw how surprised and excited I got. I groaned.

"We think," she continued, still smirking. "We think it would be best for you two to be together twice a week on school nights and you can spend entire weekends together as well. Caleb is allowed in the house whenever he wants…and Keira said that Caleb will come and get you when his aunt and uncle are not home."

I was ready to scream with delight. This was more than I had ever hoped for. I jumped off the bed and threw my arms around my mother.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" I yelled, so ecstatic that I actually kissed her on the cheek before releasing my death grip around her neck. She smiled and looked pointedly towards the door where my father was now standing.

"He had more to do with this than I did. He realized how dangerous it was for me when I was dating…he thinks you're strong enough to take care of yourselves. He also realized how hard it was on both of us when we were kept apart all those different times."

I smiled at her and then walked towards my dad and wrapped my arms around his waist as he embraced me. "When I saw everything that happened…the day I was reborn…you did it…you made me this way," I said softly. "Thank you so much for doing that to me. Not many would want this life…but I love it. Without it…I would have never found my soul mate," I whispered. I felt his shake and noticed he was sobbing a bit. He composed himself quickly though and I took a step back, dropping my arms back at my side. "Thank you, dad."

"Claire, you're the only thing I have left to protect. Your mother is more frightening than Rosalie when she gets angry…I just want to make sure you'll always be okay," he said as he bent down and kissed the top of my head.

"Dad…I can run faster than you…I can fight harder than Emmet. I may be fragile but I can put up a hell of a fight. And remember I can read minds and bend light," I said with a smile.

"I know, baby," he said with a smile, running a hand through my soft hair before touching my cheek. "Don't be stupid with this freedom either. I expect you both to act…moral," he said, sounding like, for once, he was struggling for words. I laughed and fell backwards onto the bed where Caleb sat up instantly and caught me.

"Dad…believe me…that is a long way away…we just kissed for the first time today, remember?" I asked rhetorically. Both he and my mother laughed and left the room, my mom winking at me as she went. I rolled my eyes and turned around. Caleb was leaning against the back of it again, almost in a sitting position. I smiled impishly and went on all fours, crawling towards him, careful not to put my knees in any unfortunate places. He laughed as I placed my hands on his bare chest and then lay down so that I was pressed against his body, my head resting on his warm and perfect chest, my arm draped over his abs. My leg was curled around one of his as his arm stayed under my head, making it comfortable with its warmth. It curled around and his hand was on my shoulder. I was perfectly at ease and then, in an instinct, my mind slipped back to listening to each beat on the LCD as I watched him fall to sleep quickly and easily. I smiled at his sleeping form as I heard another person enter. I groaned and saw it was Alice and Rosalie. Both of them had two very different things on their minds.

"Claire, stop paying so much attention to his heart rate. He's going to be fine," Alice said, her high and musical voice sounding more like a song. I smiled at her, but I didn't move. She laughed and then left as Rosalie went and sat in the chair.

"Claire," she said softly.

"Yeah, Rose?" I asked, confused by her behavior. She had never really been too cordial to me, but she wasn't even incredibly nice to Alice. She treated me like she treated everyone else.

"I wanted to talk to you about what we told you today…about your past," she said quietly.

"Claire…when we found you, I was in a rage…the same thing happened to me, if you recall me telling you the story. Of course, I didn't want them to change you, honestly I thought it was a horrible thing. You were like me…beautiful, young, and hurt, broken and weak in the street." She sighed and placed her face in her hands. "What I'm saying, though, Claire, is that…even though it's probably the worst thing that can happen to someone-" and I cut her off.

"I don't remember any of it. I don't remember anything of my life. I know I was homeless…and I know I had blue eyes…and I know I was pretty. I know I was raped but I don't remember a thing of it. You found me and your family saved me, made is so that I could find the one person I was meant to be with. He was meant only for me. Rosalie…if you know what it is, he imprinted. I was meant to be made how I am…I was meant for him…as he was for me. I'm grateful for what your family did. In fact, I'm grateful to those men for doing what they did. Without their interference in my life…I never would have found you or my parents or my other aunts or uncles or Carlisle and Esme…and I never would have ever found him," I said softly, my fingertips brushing against the tanned skin of his chest. I inhaled sharply.

"Claire, don't…don't regret missing out on being human, please. I regret it every minute of every day. I can never stop wishing I could have little babies with Emmet and watch them run around and watch them grow up like I've watched everyone else with children. I wanted to have grandchildren and maybe even great-grandchildren. I can't now, though. And now I'm bitter and harsh…harsh towards those who asked for this life…"

"I didn't ask for it, but I feel blessed for having it," I said simply. "I can't regret or miss something I never remember having."

"That's all I needed to know," she said, standing up and leaving the room. I smiled, watching her leave. Rosalie wasn't a very talkative person, when I thought about it. She was often a bit…she kept to herself. It was nice to hear her open up to me. I liked it. She was my aunt, after all. And I watched Caleb sleep, staying wrapped in his arms. I didn't listen to his every heartbeat anymore. I just listened to him breathe, watched him breath, watched his face make odd expressions as he dreamed. I was perfectly at east here.

* * *

**A/N: Hmm…a lot of fluffiness…but you don't mind do you? Everyone loves fluff! Anyways…reviews please. Oh…had you thought I forgot about the murders in Port Angeles…hmm…I wrote this way before the first chapter of Eclipse…I feel ripped off, haha.**


	7. Research?

**A/N: If you haven't been able to really tell…I'm writing a ton of chapters really fast to try and make up for lost time. So, honestly, I hope you're loving me right now for getting them to you so fast. Anyways, let's move on.**

_  
whenever I'm alone with you  
you make me feel like I am free again  
whenever I'm alone with you  
you make me feel like I am clean again_

**The Cure **– Love Song

"Are you sure you're okay?" I asked as he walked out of the hospital in a pair of jeans and a white undershirt. He smiled, mussing my hair.

"Of course," Caleb replied. It had been only three days since the accident. In those three days I didn't leave his side…not once. I knew I probably seemed like some love struck teenager, but I didn't really give a damn, now that I thought about it. He was holding my hand, like he seemed to always do now. Today was Monday. I knew we had about thirty minutes to get to school. Seeing as he had been hurt Friday, it had worked well in the school schedule. I was amazed, though, that there wasn't a single scratch on him. Everything healed miraculously…of course there were a few scars on his shoulders and definitely a big one on his side, but it was a constant reminder of…how far he was willing to go to keep me safe.

I smiled, realizing that. He was willing to die for me. Keira had said it a few days ago, and over the three days, she and I had become fast friends. Lucy was a sweetheart as well, and Clark and Micah were definitely on my good side immediately. The only one who didn't seem to like me too much was Rosie, and yet even she was still civil towards me. I didn't mind, of course. I had my best friend and I had my…boyfriend…and I had the members of his family as friends now. My father had drove my motorcycle up here the other day while Keira had left Caleb's Viper in the lot.

"See you there," he said, kissing my cheek as I pulled the helmet over my head and watched him walk towards his car. He had asked me countless times why I wore a helmet. Honestly, I had no real answer. It used to be that my mother would make me; I guessed it was reflex now.

I sped out of the parking lot and was at Forks high school before anyone else. It was nice, being at school early. I always got a good parking space. I sighed and waited as the Viper pulled in beside me. He smiled as he got out and I dismounted my bike and pulled the helmet off of my head. He grabbed my helmet and tossed it inside his car before closing the door. And then I closed the gap between us.

His arms wound around my waist, his hands staying on my hips as mine twined up around his neck, playing with his hair in the back.

"Are you absolutely sure you're okay?" I asked, still a bit worried.

"Claire, how many times do I have to tell you that I'm okay?" he said with a roll of his eyes. I smirked at him and batted the back of his head with my palm playfully. I knew it didn't hurt him.

"Hey," he objected, moving one of his hands free and poking the tip of my nose.

"You have issues," I said jokingly, releasing him and falling backwards into his hands. I laughed as he pulled me back onto my feet, never letting me fall.

"Let's go," he said with a roll of his eyes. "Oh, by the way, Keira says she likes you." I smiled. I had been right. I laughed.

"Tell her the feeling's mutual," I said with a smirk before grabbing his hand and pulling him toward the front doors. Morgan was there waiting, tapping her foot.

"You two completely ditched the last half of the day on Friday. The teachers are going to kill you!" she almost yelled at me.

"Morgan…we have notes," I said, holding up the piece of paper signed by my mother stating that my absence was excused and I was on a family tragedy…apparently my Uncle Harry, who we were very close to, had died. Caleb held his up too, which was a doctor's note that said he was attacked by a dog and was recovering from numerous bites over the weekend. Carlisle had signed the bottom of it. Morgan seemed appeased as we walked with her to the Attendance office and dropped off our notes. By the time the day had begun, Morgan skipped off to her first period, leaving Caleb and I to head off to the only class we had together.

With our hands twined together, we walked off to English and took our usual seats in the back of the room. The bell rang minutes later as all the desks in front of us filled up quickly. The teacher went to talking incessantly and lecturing about the book I had read this week for class. The Lord of the Flies, which had to be one of the most gruesome books in history. It was about ten-year-old children going after each other and killing each other when their plane crashed on an island. It was meant to display the flaws that take over society when there isn't an authority there. It shows how unruly and horrible society would be without authority and laws and structure. All in all, it was a terrible book.

"Claire?" called the teacher. I looked up from where I was doodling on my spiral and did a quick glance through the teacher's mind.

"Ralph," I said, looking back down as my eyes met the spot where my hand sat on the desk, my fingers intertwined with Caleb's. I smiled and noticed his smile out of my peripheral vision. He rubbed the back of my hand with his warm thumb and I felt myself shiver. The warmth wasn't something I would easily get used to. I have his hand a gentle squeeze as I grabbed up my pen and began doodling again. He laughed and grabbed the notebook, looking at what I had been drawing. It was a pair of angel wings, spread out on the paper, perfect and angelically white.

"Why angel wings?" he asked in confusion.

"I don't know. I think they're pretty. They remind me of something…like a really far off memory. It's like when you have some song stuck in your head but you can't sing it because you have no idea how it goes…you know?" I said softly.

"Yeah. What do you think it is?"

"I don't know, human memories coming back maybe," I said with a shrug. I looked up when I heard a new set of thoughts enter the classroom. I felt Caleb stiffen next to me and then a scent wafted through my nose. It was one of us, a vampire, entering the classroom. I froze in my seat. Caleb instinctively clutched the edge of the desk. I noticed his strain and his fight for control. It was something he never had when he was around me. What was different about this one? I noticed it then, those red eyes in that perfect face. I grimaced as my blue eyes refused to betray my status, my species. Caleb raised a hand tentatively and I could feel Alice's thoughts close by, along with those of Carlisle and Emmet. That meant that this was the one.

"Yes, Caleb?" asked the teacher.

"May I go see a teacher? I forgot I was supposed to see him before school and it's urgent. I have no idea how long it's going to take," he said earnestly, his voice not betraying the emotion I knew he was feeling. The teacher nodded reluctantly and Caleb left the room quickly and hastily. The new kid raised his hand then. I saw the teacher's mind and his name was Blake or at least it was what he was being called. The teacher allowed him to leave the room too. My curiosity was piqued and I made the excuse of needing to see the counselor. Of course they believed me. They had to, seeing as the world believed my uncle had just died in a drunk driving accident. As soon as I was released from class, I bolted to where I could smell Caleb and there they both were, in the parking lot.

"Caleb, don't do this," I said softly.

"Claire…this is the guy who's been ripping up Port Angeles," Caleb argued, not taking his eyes off of the vampire before us. He was very beautiful, his eyes a vibrant red in a pale face that was topped with brown hair that fell gently over his eyebrows. He was built like a runner or a swimmer and was a little taller than Caleb, but not by much.

"The others are coming. He's a newborn, right? So, that means that he won't be hard to beat. Jasper knows exactly how to deal with things like this," I argued. I saw Blake's eyes fall on me for the first time and his red irises smoldered into my crystalline blue ones.

"You're one of us. Why are you helping his kind? You're a Cullen vampire," he said in a voice that was far older than his body. He seemed ancient, his papery skin not reflecting the light of the sun as it hid behind clouds. "You're different though."

"Believe me, I can still kill you," I said harshly, through gritted teeth.

"You can try," he said, smirking. "Odds are I'll be the one killing you. You may have more coming soon, but so do we."

"We?" I asked skeptically. "Who are you here on behalf of?"

"The Volturi. It has come to our attention that the Cullen family has gotten too large. A few boundaries have been overstepped and we aren't willing to look it over anymore. Last time we were generous, this time the Cullens cannot be trusted."

"Too large a coven? The Volturi are three times the size!" I objected loudly.

"Yes, but the Volturi enforce the laws, the rules, and are above those."

"No one is above laws that they make."

"Listen, just point me in the direction of the new Cullen family member and it will all be over," he said, pressing his fingertips to his temples as though to rid himself of a headache.

"You're looking at her," I said, placing my hands on my hips. He sighed and pushed the sleeves of his sweater up to his elbows.

"The werewolf will stay out of this, then?" he asked with a smirk.

"_Caleb_ will not interfere unless necessary," I said, stressing the name to get my point across. Caleb, seeing my determination, took a few steps backward, toward the school. He began pushing cars out of the way. This was going to make a mess. I could tell, by now, this one wasn't a newborn. If he was, he was very well trained. No newborn would be able to walking into Forks High School without murdering everyone in sight. I groaned and also rolled up my sleeves.

"Well, then. Let's get this over with. As soon as you're ripped to shreds then the problem is over. I hope you don't mind never seeing your family again." I smirked and nodded at Caleb as he took a few steps back.

"Why pretend to be a newborn?" I asked in curiosity.

"We thought, with the history the Cullens have, that it would lure you out, but I got bored with waiting so…I came up to Forks of my own accord."

"I'm sure there are a shit load of people who won't appreciate that at all," I said with a smirk. I could feel the ground beneath my feet, the vibrations in it. I was building up power, the one power that made me possibly more powerful than any other vampire. I knew I was special. I had always known that. With a light smirk, my fast eyes were trained to follow his every movement, and they did. I could hear the other members of my family approach, could hear Caleb tell them to stand back. And then Blake was in front of me. I ducked, rolled, bounced back up on my feet perfectly ready to fight. He smiled. This would be a better fight, more fun for me, if the sun was out, but I could still get to the light around the campus. The lights in the school flickered and then went out. The sky seemed to open up as I called to the light energy. I could hear Emmett laughing behind us.

The predator seemed to realize what was going on very quickly as my hands began to glow a vibrant white. He charged at me, with complete intent to grab my throat, but my hand clasped over his wrist and a pulse of pure energy shot through his entire body, welding him to hands as I pulled him to the ground and fired my knee into his stomach. He coughed once. Clearly he hadn't mastered the technique of not breathing while fighting. Emmett was nice enough to teach me that one. I smirked as he shot off my knee and into the dirt. I wasn't done though. Before he could stumble back up and recover, I was behind him, and I fired a kick straight into his back, sending him stumbling forward a few more feet. I was fully aware that the students in the school were wondering why the lights were out and all other electricity was working fine. I didn't care at the point.

He threw a punch.

I dodged it and got him in the temple with my elbow.

He stumbled and I was beginning to get cocky. I could feel the energy fill me, and I knew that with this much I was a lot faster. Light charged me, made me more powerful. I was getting addicted to it, slowly but surely. I heard every light bulb in the school burst at the same time. I smirked and then something gripped me. It was strong and pulling and I couldn't fight it. It was as though there were invisible hands around my neck, choking me. Not that it mattered much, but I couldn't fight. I wasn't hurt or dying or anything of that sort. I stared down at the vampire with red eyes. He smiled and I noticed his hand cupped like something you would see in a Star Wars movie. I felt my body lift from the ground.

Telekinesis.

That was one I wasn't used to…at all. I had never heard it.

Well, it definitely changed a few things.

"Claire!" I heard Caleb yell. I knew someone had just stopped him from coming to help me. In anger, I raised one of my hands and a jolt of energy shot straight at him, making him stumble backwards, loosen his hold, and I was free. He moved his hands incredibly fast now, and I saw things flying at me from all angles. Cars, pieces of cars, anything that someone could find in a parking lot at a high school. I saw a slew of CDs threaten to slice me to ribbons as they spun at me. I glared at him in anger as one hit me and fell to the ground. It didn't hurt at all. I crouched down, on the balls of my feet, looking more like a jungle cat than I had right to. He moved his hand and I was behind him in an instant, his hand held behind his back. He smirked. My free hand fought his other hand as he kept trying to get a hold of me. He threw me off quickly and took a few steps backward, panting slightly.

"Thanks. This research will be very helpful for those paying me," he said with a wicked smile. He strode forward for a second, meeting my eyes, and then was gone. I was aware of how ragged I probably looked. My hair was more than it's usual messiness and I could see a few rips and tears in my clothes. As soon as he was gone, my family rushed upon me.

"Why did he come into the city?" my father asked me, grasping me by the shoulders. I inhaled sharply.

"He was after me and only me. The Volturi know about me…they think with my addition to the family that you are too strong to be allowed to stay like that. What are they going to do with me?"

"Revenge," Alice whispered softly.

"What?" I asked in confusion.

"A long time ago, one of the Volturi asked Edward and me to join them. When we said no, they were very miffed, except Jane of course. Anyway…we think that they're going to try and take you away from us," Alice said softly. I saw her scan ahead, visions of the future pouring into her mind. She grimaced at one and I dove into her thoughts. I saw myself being pulled away from Caleb as I boarded a plane to Italy. It was sad, horrible. I couldn't imagine choosing to be without him. My family was all around me, looks of sadness and determination on their faces. Another vision was of a pile of ashes on the ground and my mother on her knees over top of it, my father trying to comfort her. I couldn't take anymore and I left Alice's thoughts alone.

"Can they really do that? They really think they rule the world?" I asked haughtily.

"They sort of do, Claire. You should never irritate them. Claire they almost killed your mother when she was human. Your father asked to die once because he knew they might do it for them. They're incredibly powerful because of a few additions. I think, though, with your mother's help, it is possible to destroy them."

"What do you mean? Are you talking about how my mom's power always seems to block everyone else's?" I asked, falling into Caleb's arms as he came up behind me and wrapped his arms around my shoulders.

"Yeah. Claire, I know you won't like this, but I think for now you need to keep a low profile…possibly leave Forks altogether while we take care of this. Whoever that guy was, he was under the employment of the Volturi, not a member. His fighting style was far too sloppy. Though they would love to have him on their side. Odds are he's just a mercenary," said my father thoughtfully.

"Leave Forks? How, with who? Why?" I asked angrily.

"You would need a body guard and I trust Caleb and his family. If it gets to a point when the Volturi themselves enter Forks, we will have to stop them some way or another. Aro won't be part of this movement, but Caius probably is. I have no idea what Marcus is thinking," said Carlisle, tapping his index finger against his temple as he contemplated.

"So, I can't go to school anymore? I can't go outside anymore or anything like that?" I asked in frustration.

"I'm afraid not. Not until we get this all sorted out, Claire," said Esme softly.

"That makes no sense! I can help, I can fight. I'm one of the strongest. I may not have as much experience but I'm fast and strong and my powers will come in handy!" I objected loudly.

"Claire. If you're the one they want, they won't hesitate just to take you away from us. They might not kill you but they have ways of subduing you," my father said softly. I reached into his mind only see that he had first hand experience to Jane's death glares. I shrunk back, seeing just how much pain she had made him feel. "You see, we don't want that to be you."

"It won't be. I can fight, I'm strong enough," I argued. By now, people were beginning to pour out of the building to go home. No one could have school if there was an unexpected loss of power. I sighed, realizing I hadn't released that energy yet. I opened my closed fists and focused and all the lights flickered back on. A teacher ran out and yelled that classes were still in session.

"Let me go take care of a few things. Caleb, do you want help if you're going to be Claire's caretaker for a little while?" Carlisle asked as he began to walk towards the school.

"I can take care of her perfectly fine," Caleb said, sounding a little miffed that Carlisle thought he would need help. Carlisle shrugged and entered the school. I listened carefully as he told the office that Caleb and I had been checked into the hospital today with some disease I didn't know. Apparently it would be a few weeks before we both got back. I rolled my eyes as Carlisle came outside. Without a second glance at my family, but one quick glance at Caleb, I mounted my motorcycle and sped off down the street. As soon as I got to Carlisle's house, I threw my helmet with enough force that a huge spide web crack appeared in the back of it. I didn't care. There was no point to me wearing the helmet anyway.

With a roll of my eyes I walked inside to the room that used to belong to my father. It had a few new additions for when I came to stay here every once in a while. The giant Sound System had gotten an update, which I didn't mind. Whatever projected music better was fine with me. The gold had become silver gray, the carpet, the paint, anything gold was now a soft silvery color. I didn't like gold at all. There was a TV on the wall, a really nice one actually, that was hooked to the sound system to allow surround sound if I wanted it. I threw myself on the bed and grabbed one of the bed rails, the twined laurel pattern made in wrought iron. I yanked a huge flower off of it and held it in my hands for a few seconds.

I was angry, of course. I would be watched wherever I went and I was being treated like a little girl. It wasn't fair at all. Did they think no one would find me here? I would be better off fighting. It wasn't that I didn't trust Caleb with my life or anything, it was just that I hated this idea of hiding when I was stronger than Emmet and faster than Edward and more beautiful than Rosalie. It wasn't fair to make me sit here on the sidelines and watch.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

I looked up at the door, knowing it was Alice. She entered.

"I knew you were going to say come in, so…I just came in." I smiled at her. Alice sometimes knew what would cheer me up. She never failed, with her quirky personality, to put me in a better mood.

"What is it, Alice?" I asked, not really caring, for once, what she wanted to talk to me about.

"Claire…throughout your life you've had no excitement until now, when all this happened. I understand why you're so angry. You really don't want to have to sit by and watch everyone else have all the fun. We probably won't end up fighting. Carlisle is taking a plane to Italy tomorrow morning and he'll be back in three days. He just needs to talk to them. He was a very good friend of them once and he thinks he'll be able to convince them we aren't a threat. If Marcus and Aro can outvote Caius, there won't be a fight. If they try to take you, we will not let them."

"Why won't you let me fight them?" I asked angrily.

"Your father, I believe, showed you the very reason why," she said softly as she sat down on the bed next to me and touched my hair. I squirmed out of her reach and sat farther back on the bed. I wanted to be angry right now.

"I don't care. I can still fight them. It's not real pain, if I just remember that then how can it affect me?" I asked harshly.

"Believe me, it feels very, very real," Alice said in wonderment. "I saw it happen to Edward. Picture your father writhing on the ground in pain. There's Jane's brother, Alec. Something about him is far, far more powerful than Jane. We have no idea what he can do and it's best not to put you in a situation that would test that."

"You know I hate this," I said angrily, crossing my arms across my chest.

"You're just like Edward and Emmett. You like taking risks too much. Calm down. Think of it this way, you'll be spending about a week alone with Caleb."

"Alone? But…you guys are all going to be here," I said in confusion.

"Well, we know they'll come here looking for you first and we have some old friends coming to help out. We can't afford to have you here when we know this is where they're going first. We booked you a hotel room in Port Angeles." She smiled, dropping a small card key into my hand. You already checked in, so as soon as you're ready to go, leave. I felt my eyes widen.

"Your parents definitely trust you," she said with a smile. I sighed and heard another knock.

"Come in," I called, my voice barely audible because I knew whoever it was would hear me. The door opened and it was Caleb. I smiled at him as he came and sat down next to me, placing his arm around my shoulders, instantly calming me. I leaned against his soft, warm body, my head resting on his chest. "Well…did they tell you?" I asked with an awkward smile.

"Yeah," he said, sounding equally as awkward. "We're not leaving yet. I want to meet them, Alice."

"Meet who?" I asked in confusion, lifting my head to look at him.

"Alright," Alice said with a light and musical laugh. I glared at them.

"Meet who?" I asked angrily.

"The Quileutes," said Caleb, smiling. "All werewolves are descended from them. I can trace my ancestry back to Native Americans. The reason I'm white now is because of the gene carriers marrying whites." I fell off the bed then, surprise gripping me.

"Does my dad know about this?" I asked Alice in shock when I had gotten to my feet.

"Yeah. It was his idea actually. If anything, Bella doesn't want them here," Alice said with a smile.

"Alice, you can't be serious. They'll be so much older," I said, shocked.

"No, actually. If they continued to shift after we last saw them, they wouldn't have aged a day. I think Sam may have taken that step to not changing but the others were so damn immature especially that Quil. Of course, assuming Leah is still alive, there could be some trouble."

"Oh, calm down. I'm sure they won't have a problem with my family at all."

"Your uncle?" I asked, holding my breath.

"He and I had a nice and long talk when he came to the hospital. He doesn't want to rip you apart and burn you alive. I promise. Now that we know who's killing people around here, he will be civil with you." I still was worried, though.

"Bella!" yelled a thundering voice form downstairs. It was a deep and husky voice that I knew perfectly from the things I had seen and heard in the minds of my family. I winced, knowing exactly who it was. Apparently he had put the whole Bella not loving him thing behind him. That was good, then. At least he wasn't going to try and eat me.

**A/N: So, I got a request form someone to try and fit the little Quileute boys in here. Though I hate Jacob with a fiery and burning passion stronger than the heat of the sun, I am still doing this. I like all the other Quileutes…just not Jacob. Anyway, review please. I know this chapter is a little weird and has a lot of different stuff happening, but I'll clear it up for you. Oh, and FYI...I want lots of reviews this time. So, readers, if you are reading it and not reviewing like a slacker, you don't get a smile form me. I won't update unless this chapter gets...eight reviews. So ha!  
**


	8. Loss of Innocence

**A/N: Okay, so I am writing this and I'm not submitting it until I get eight reviews. It's going to get more each time. I want lots of reviews. Anyway, you finally get what a lot of you guys have been waiting for: Jacob and all the adorable Quileute boys. Hoorah…I hate Jacob a lot.**

_I still remember the world  
From the eyes of a child  
Slowly those feelings  
Were clouded by what I know now_

_Where has my heart gone  
An uneven trade for the real world  
Oh I... I want to go back to  
Believing in everything and knowing nothing at all_

_I still remember the sun  
Always warm on my back  
Somehow it seems colder now_

_Where has my heart gone  
Trapped in the eyes of a stranger  
Oh I... I want to go back to  
Believing in everything_

**Evanescence**_ – _Field of Innocence

* * *

The gruffness of the voice shocked me a bit. It was more human than anything that had entered this house before. Even Caleb's voice was soft and even and smooth. The loud voice I heard downstairs was followed by a low growl that Caleb caught immediately.

"That's my dad," I said sarcastically, rolling my eyes.

"Claire! Come down!" yelled my mother. Sometimes she still wasn't used to only having to speak normally to get my attention, but that was okay. I grabbed Caleb's hand and slid slowly off the bed and pulled him towards the door. A rumbling growl was below us now, a growl I didn't recognize.

"You changed someone in Forks," assumed another voice I didn't know.

"No, we found her in London, actually," assured Carlisle with an even and perfectly controlled tone. I heard a murmur of assent among the strangers as Caleb and I made it to the landing.

"This is Claire, my daughter," said my mother hastily, running to my side and wrapping her arms around my shoulders. I wriggled out of her grip and back into Caleb's. A look of shock crossed the faces of every stranger in the room. They were all tall and dark. Two of them were about twenty-five years old or so, but the others looked about sixteen or seventeen. I recognized one of the older ones from the memories of my family members almost immediately.

"Jacob Black?" I questioned, looking up at him. A wide smile flashed across his face.

"She looked nothing like you, Bells. She doesn't act like you either. She prefers to be with the safer choice, though…I can't really assess that quite yet," Jacob said, throwing a glance at my mother. I saw my father stiffen next to her before composing himself again.

"Sam," I said softly, looking at the other older one. He nodded solemnly and I looked to the other, younger, ones. "Quil, Jared, Paul, Embry, Leah, Seth," I said slowly, looking to all of them. Most of them were shirtless, Leah wearing a sports bra on her top only and a pair of short shorts. She was pretty, her body toned and muscled. She looked to be about only nineteen or so. Caleb stood behind me, his arms wrapped around my shoulders as he looked at the visitors.

"And one of ours is here, I see," said Embry with a smile.

"Actually, he's mine," came a voice I knew too well. I turned to hear the clicking of heels as Keira walked in nonchalantly, pushing a strand of her dark hair over her shoulder. Caleb laughed and the other visitors smiled wolfish grins as they took in her beauty. Rose appeared in the doorway next, followed by Lucy and then Clark and Micah. I smiled. It was good to see them again. Seth took a step forward as though to meet Keira but she held her hand up and shook her head and he fell back. It was clear the Keira was an alpha female. Who was an alpha male in Caleb's pack then? It struck me, then. Caleb was. He was in charge. That was why he and Keira had come to my house the night to question me about Port Angeles.

"So, what can she do?" Same asked, nodding his head in my direction. I didn't like that at all.

"I do have a soul. I can speak for myself. You can address me and speak directly to me. I'm not illiterate or anything," I said, placing my hands on my hips. I could see Emmett swelling with pride at my side and smirked. I even saw a few of the wolves crack smiles. Keira was beside me, grinning broadly. The rest of Caleb's pack hung back in the doorway.

"Alright then, what can you do?" Sam asked me, his posture making him look a bit miffed. I scanned his thoughts, laughing internally.

"Well, first I think you need to stop thinking such sulfurous thoughts about and appreciate the fact that I'm smarter than most of your pack. Other than that, I can manipulate light into solid objects," I said, smiling.

"You can do what now?" asked Jacob, butting in as he thought it was incredibly important.

"Watch," I said, smiling. I looked at the chandelier hanging above us in the entryway and closed my eyes. I opened my palm in front of me and felt a burst of power run through and then focused it, as I always did, into a solid shape. When I opened my eyes, a ball of pure light sat, suspended in mid-air, above my hand. I smiled and moved my hand from underneath it, making it move to match the direction my eyes were going. I moved my head and then brought it back to myself, spinning it around my body and then throwing it at Sam. He went to catch it, but it passed through his hands and burst into a million little fireflies, which darted at him, attempting to hurt him. He swatted at them and I sighed and made them disappear as the light in the chandelier came back on.

"Wow," said Jacob appreciatively. I glanced into his thoughts and was hit with horrible visions of my father's heartbreak and various scenarios of him with my mother. I felt a more restraining hold on my body from behind me and saw Caleb's look of disapproval as he held me more tightly.

"Don't," he whispered, too soft for anyone, even my family members, to hear. I sighed and bit my lower lip before falling backwards into his ready hands. A low gorwl still left my chest and I saw Jacob's head turn in my direction. Everyone else completely chose to ignore it.

"So, between two packs and a coven as strong as yours, especially with her on your side, we shouldn't have a problem beating them," said Paul confidently.

"Do you even know what the Volturi are?" Jasper asked in annoyance. I seemed to feel obligated to rip off Paul's face as well, but the restraints that Caleb had on me were very, very strong.

"Need we?" Jared asked, his gaze shifting from Keira to Jasper.

"They're the only thing our kind has that could be considered a royal family. Their guard is impenetrable, their powers are elite. If my guess is right, the only reason they're doing this is to try and recruit Claire to their guard which I will not let happen and I doubt anyone else in our family will," said my father as the eyes shifted to him. My breath caught. I hadn't really accepted a possibility that they would want me to work for them, to work with them.

"So, who do they have?" asked Jacob, now interested as he leaned against the wall casually. I smirked and looked at Alice. Her memories flooded into me and I saw my father, writing in pain on the ground as a small girl stood over him, doing nothing but looking at him with a twisted smile on her face. My smirk immediately faded into a mask of shock and pain. I shit out the memories Alice was trying to show me and turned quickly around, burying my face in Caleb's chest. I heard Sam scoff. Clearly he did not approve.

"The most formidable are the twins," said Alice quickly. "Jane can inflict pain with a glance…the worst pain you can imagine, it's worse. Alec, her brother. We've never seen what he can do, but I assure you…those two make their guard unstoppable. Aro is one of their leaders; he can read every thought you've ever had just by coming in contact with you. Heidi is as beautiful as she is terrible. Do not be distracted by her. Demetri is a tracker. He can find almost anyone just by meeting them. We think that's how they found us. Marcus knows relationships. Do not let him inside your minds of it any of you have imprinted, they will use her against us. I do not ever want to have kill a mortal just because she is putting my family in general, but I will if I have to. They might even go so far as to use a few newborns, but that won't be a problem, as I'm sure you all remember," Alice said, looking to the wolves. They all nodded in unison as images from Alice flooded my mind again. A battle between an old foe and new ones had occurred many years ago. I shuddered thinking about it.

"Is that it?" Jacob asked with a confident smirk.

"No, not nearly. They have such strong and experienced people on their side. Maybe you weren't there when we met the mercenary this afternoon who tried to destroy my niece," said Emmet, crossing his arms over his chest.

"We'll handle it," said Sam. "If they go on our side of the line, we'll take care of them. They've never fought anything like us before. They won't know what to do or what we are. We will know them down to their smallest detail if you help us."

"That we will do, but we will not be risking our family by using that stupid line again. We work together as we did that one time long ago," said Esme, stepping forward to place a hand on Alice's shoulder as Carlisle's arm wound around her waist. I sighed and turned around again. Caleb's arms stayed firmly around my waist, holding me to him. I didn't mind in the least bit. I was thinking only of him. I did not want him to fight.

"We know the Volturi better than you might. We are from Europe, after all," said Keira. I noticed a hint of an Italian accent creep into her voice. I was a little shocked.

"We're not really cousins, or brothers and sisters. I forgot to tell you," Caleb said with a slight smirk. "Though, our Uncle really did teach us everything we know. We owe it to him. When he attacked you it was the first time he had phased in a very, very long time." I nodded and clutched his wrist in both my hands, feeling the warmth of him spread through as a shudder ran up his spine from how cold I was. I smiled. We were perfect. I was not perfect and he was not either, but together, we were perfect.

"Bella can bring us a bit of an advantage, and, because of Claire, I think it is safe to say that since she can reproduce the effect of the sun, we can be sure no human lives will be wasted. They will be forced to fight in the mountains or in the forests. Forks will be safe," Jasper promised the pack of Quieutes who stood before us.

"How is Bella and advantage?" Jacob asked, raising an eyebrow. "What, can she actually walk across the floor without breaking something?" I heard a hollow laugh from my father and knew that if it were possible, my mother would have blushed, very, very brightly. I smiled.

"Bella's ability, if she gets close enough, will cancel out the powers of whoever she is fighting. They will still be fast and strong but they can't use their extra talents. I think Bella should help Edward take down Alec, if there is a possibility of it," said Rosalie, already scheming of ways to end the lives of those who had wanted to kill her brother years ago. I felt an anger I had never known before. I felt like I had grown up.

It seemed like the easy things in life had just ended for me. I was not a child anymore, though I had been sixteen for about twenty years. It seemed like I couldn't be innocent anymore, that I would be the one to spill blood now. I was going to fight. I was not ignorant and naïve. I was grown up and that made me curious.

----------

About an hour later, they had gone. Keira and her pack had left too, all but Caleb, he was allowed to stay with me. We were sitting in the room I had at the Cullen mansion. He was laying on the bed, horizontal. I was laying vertically, my head resting on his stomach which, at the moment, was bare. He wore only a pair of jeans. I had on a pair of short, cloth shorts and a tank top. We had just come back from a run.

Ever since I had felt that loss of innocence a few hours before, it made me wonder what he was like. My mother had told me that while werewolves continue to phase, they stop aging.

"How old are you really?" I asked him, rolling over so that my chin was on his stomach, which glistened with sweat. It smelled wonderful, his smell. I had grown to love how he smelled.

"Sixteen," he said with a smile, pushing himself up on one of his elbows as I sat up and he pulled me into his lap.

"How long have you been sixteen?" I asked, narrowing my eyes in suspicion. He smirked.

"How long have you?" he asked, a playful grin on his perfect lips. I looked at my hands folded in my lap and felt his hand run itself through my hair once. "That's what I thought," he said with a grin. I rolled my eyes.

"Twenty years, give or take," I said simply. "Your turn."

"About sixteen," he said, rolling his eyes.

"So, you're what…thirty-two?" I asked with a laugh, falling backwards into his arms and. He smiled and looked down at me before kissing the tip of my nose. I laughed and then pushed him down and was on top of him in less than a second. He grinned and touched my thigh, his fingertips lingering there for a split second before he flipped me over and was on top of me. I laughed as he leaned down, his blonde hair falling onto my forehead as he pressed his lips to mine. My hand flew to the side of his face, locking him to me. I could feel the muscles in his jaw flex as he continued to kiss me. I was about to gasp to let him get some air but his tongue snaked its way inside my mouth. I was a little shocked, to be completely honest. I bit down on his tongue, not hard, but I could see his eyes open in masochistic happiness with the moment. He wriggled his tongue free and then snagged my wrist in his hand, pinning me down beneath him.

"What are you doing?" I asked with a smirk.

"Nothing. You're done," he said with a laugh. "We can't ruin your honor. What would your parents think of me then?" I smiled at him.

"Ha ha, you're so funny. You know…I'm betting Alice is about to dart up the stairs right now…and…if my dad might hear my thoughts, he's about ready to rip your face off," I said with a grin. He released his grip on my hands and backed up, leaning against the footboard. I smiled at him as I crawled forward again, on hands and knees until my lips met his again. His two hands were on my cheeks and we both closed our eyes, both in eternal bliss. When I pulled away he smiled at me.

"Have I told you how much I love you yet today?" he asked, his beautiful eyes locking to mine. I smiled.

"I can't remember," I said, giggling like a little girl.

"Well, I love you more than I love the air I have to breathe and you don't," he said, laughing. I grinned and kissed his bare stomach, feeling his abs flex under my frigid lips. I smiled against his warm skin and he grinned as I rested my chin on his stomach again and he touched my hair, running his fingers through it.

"So, what now?" I asked him, smiling still.

"I guess all that's left is to wait," he said, his face growing serious.

"I don't think we can win. If it comes down to them asking me to come with them and everyone I love being destroyed, I'll go with them," I said slowly. I was thinking about it too. Hadn't I always wanted answers and power and a feeling of belonging. There, I might actually be able to find that. Sure, they were monsters and I had never spilled human blood before, but they could answer my questions. Maybe they knew why I was different from the rest of my family, why I have the powers I have and why my eyes don't change from black to gold but stay that crystal blue that is too alluring for humans to pass up.

There was one question that I had never even wanted to ask. I was too scared to ask it. Sometimes…and only on occasion, I still had a heartbeat. Each day, I felt it fade a little more and I knew one day it would be completely gone. I shuddered at the thought. So, was a part of me still human? Was it possible for me…to have children and live a life that most vampires could only dream of. I hadn't eaten human food since my transformation, but I could try it. What if it satisfied me? What if I was mortal but had a taste for blood and could live forever and not age? What if I was special? What if I had evolved?

I was growing up. Five years ago, I never would have attempted to second-guess my family and what they said were the undeniable truths of being a vampire. I looked up at him.

"I'm different from the rest of them," I said touching his strong stomach that had a chiseled six-pack of abs on it. He smiled.

"I know. I knew since the day I met you. Are you just now realizing it? You still hold human blood in your body. That pureness of your powers just does not want to seem to let it go. You're like my own little angel. But it scares me. Can't that also mean you can die?"

"I don't know," I said softly. "How did you know before I did though?"

"Vampires are second nature to me. Your scent was different, you had blue eyes, you were more beautiful and more powerful than your family members and you weren't newly born. I did some research and found that mythology has taken a form inside of you. You still retain some humanity while the others are completely vampiric."

"What's what supposed to mean?" I asked him, a low growl building in my stomach.

"You're able to do things they can't, but you can do everything they can. Claire, I think it's possible for you to even have a child. You could probably eat human food and your digestive system would still accept it as normal."

"How could that be? My father changed me, let the venom seep into me. I woke up three days later completely different. I was a vampire, a full vampire. My eyes were purple, stained with red and blue. I am a vampire," I said defiantly, sitting up so I could face him directly.

"Vampires don't have blue eyes, Claire. Vampires don't have an incredibly slow heartbeat and working body systems. You do," he whispered, leaning forward and pulling me in towards him. He placed me on his lap and cradled my face against his soft, warm chest.

"I'm special," I whispered as I felt a tear roll down my cheek. I pulled my head from his grip and touched the tear, letting it sit on my fingertip. Caleb grabbed my hand and placed the tear in his mouth.

"You are," he said softly. "Now, maybe we should go downstairs, though I think it would be better if I put a shirt on first." I nodded. He was right. I would try not to make it completely obvious that I wanted answers, that was for sure. My family didn't need to know more about what made me an anomaly among them.

* * *

**A/N: Alright so yesterday I got my wisdom teeth pulled and my face kinda hurts, so you'll have to excuse how long this has taken me to finished with school and everything following me around. Gah. I hate school-work. So, read and review please. Eight reviews for a new chapter. And, if you have any questions about this chapter of previous ones, ask in your review and I'll answer them. I think you've earned it.**


	9. Q and A

**A/N: Aww, my face has healed!! Yay!! So, Supernatural has started up again, that was a killer season premier, dontcha think?? Ugh. I love that show and those Winchester Boys…they're sooo sexy. Anyway. Claire is just too impatient not to try and get answers. You know how she is.**

_I sat and thought the other day how it seems strange_

_That we could walk through life so blind_

_And how a lot of people never change._

_I'm not trying to say I have the answer_

_All I know for sure is that we weren't put here_

_To serve ourselves, that's so selfish_

_To think that we're put on this earth just for pleasure_

_I know that there's much more than that._

_But I won't tell you what it is; it's up to you_

_To decide for yourself what is wrong and what is right_

_And know that we all make mistakes, there's always time_

_To turn your life around and change_

_All the wrong decisions that you've made._

_**Ataris**__ – __Answer_

* * *

Days turned to weeks and I was getting anxious. It had been two weeks after the incident with the one who had tracked me and I was on edge more and more each day. Questions were ready to pour out my ears and I wanted so badly just to punch something over and over again. There was nothing someone like me could punch and not break though. Tough luck for me, huh?

I was sitting in English with Caleb as I always did, bored out of my mind by how horrible things were right now.

"I'm asking Carlisle tonight. I can't take it anymore. He has to know something," I said to Caleb as I pretended to take notes but was actually only doodling on my notebook. Once again, a pair of angel wings. On the other side of the paper, I had curiously drawn a pentacle. Caleb stared at it, his expression more confused than anything.

"Where have you seen that symbol before?" he asked me, his index finger stabbing at the lined notebook paper. I shrugged. I didn't remember ever seeing anything that would have brought it to mind recently, but it seemed like it was engraved in my memory somehow, like some far off dream I should remember but I didn't. Caleb seemed to let it go for the rest of class. Lunch, as it seemed for everyone, was too short. It was the last time I would see Caleb until the end of the day. I sighed and left for my afternoon classes, looking as bored as usual. When the day finally drew to a close, he and I got into his little car that he loved way too much and he drove…the speed limit…to the Cullen abode.

"Is Carlisle home?" I called as I walked in.

"Office," I heard Alice say from upstairs. I nodded and tossed my backpack onto the ground and Caleb did the same though he more set his down than threw it carelessly like I did. I held his hand as we walked up to Carlisle's study. I knocked on the door, rather warily.

"Come in," came my grandfather's even voice from the other side. I turned the knob and walked inside.

"Claire. I thought it was you. What's wrong?" he asked, smiling like he always tended to do at me. I was his only grandchild and therefore his topmost concern sometimes.

"I was…wondering why I'm so different from the rest of the family," I said warily. Caleb was about to let go of my hand so he could leave Carlisle and I to talk about this alone, but I grasped it even tighter, not wanting my pillar of protection to leave me.

"Different? Haven't we already discussed this? Claire when you were changed there was a parasite living on each of your red blood cells. That's what gave you your extra power," he said simply.

"No, I mean the other stuff. Why are my eyes blue and why do…why do I still have a heartbeat? Carlisle, what's wrong with me? Why do I smell different and why can I blush and stuff? Why am I different from everyone else? Why am I closer to being human?"

"I have waited for you to ask these questions for years. Go ahead and sit down, Claire," he said, indicating two chairs situated beside the bookcases across from his desk. Caleb and I did as we were told and waited.

"Those same creatures living in your blood are also alive. They are the reason you can run faster than most of us, your blood gets to parts of your body faster and you are almost like a newborn. When you were changed, the venom was fought by the parasites like it was a disease. If you die, so do your little friends. They fought the venom until the venom gave up and they worked together to purge your body of all weaknesses. Your skin is hard as marble to protect your insides, which still operate should you need them. They had to keep the heart beating to supply oxygen to your blood for those parasites. You don't know it but you do have to breathe every once in a while. You don't need to breathe anywhere near as much as a human. I think you could probably go about three days without air and still be fine. Also…I have a belief that your reproductive organs would still work should the opportunity arise for the creation of more of the parasites. Though you will not show sings that you have a working system, you, if I am correct, will be able to get pregnant and have a child, I think."

Everything he had just said had confirmed my worst suspicions about so many things that I felt like my head would explode. I blinked about five times in a row and then bit my bottom lip.

"So…I am stronger and faster because I'm like a newborn…I am living off my own blood but…it gets put back into me?" I asked in slight confusion.

"I think. When we took a sample of your blood right before you were changed, I ran some tests on it. It wasn't everyday we found someone as unique as you. I put samples of your blood into different situations. One of the ones which made me research you far more than I had ever intended was the case in which I put a sample of vampire venom into the blood. At first your blood…glowed and the venom, which is normally colorless, became black and then faded back to it's normal color along with your blood. When I analyzed the blood, it had venom, the strange parasites, and your blood still in there. I was amazed, to say the least. Never had I come upon something like this before and I felt like you didn't need to know. Claire, you're the missing link in our kind. Your parasite has made you stay human but be immortal. Should you eat human food, you will digest it like a person. Should you swallow poison, the parasites would kill the toxins in it. You're an astounding girl, Claire, more than I would have ever expected to find in the world. My only question for you is where you think you might have picked up your parasites."

I blinked again. They had run tests on my blood? They had treated me like a guinea pig indirectly? Why wasn't I angry? I could have children and a family. Rosalie obviously didn't know about that…or maybe she was just happy that she would be a great aunt looking as amazing as she would. But…that was another reason the Volturi were after me. I realized it then. They wanted my power and they wanted me as a test subject.

"I told you…I don't remember anything. For all I know I could have been born with them," I said, shrugging indifferently.

"More than likely you were. But we want to trace them back. I want to figure out exactly what these things are. They're too small, though, to analyze in any way where I would be able to run tests on just the parasite. I can barely see them in a microscope."

"What do they look like?" I asked, cringing. I was a little freaked out since we were talking about something that was inside of me.

"More or less like the little ghosts in Pac-Man. Though, they seem to have a very thick cell membrane and I cannot see their insides. They clasp onto the blood cells with their little grooves on the bottom. They fit into the blood cell like a key into a lock. They don't have the eyes though, and they're pure white."

"So…you have no idea where they came from?" I asked, pursing my lips. If these things were the roots of my anomalies I wanted to know where they came from. It was aggravating that I was a freak among a group of vampires. How much more hopeless can that life be? I sighed and stood.

"So…if it is possible for me to have children…will they grow up? Will they be born…vampires?" I asked, the question popping into my head like a ticking time bomb.

"I'm not exactly sure. It would be interesting to find out. You won't age. You are at the perfect age for the human body. Strong, filled with wonderful hormones, young, beautiful. That is why you will not age. If I had to guess, I would say your children would grow to be whatever their strongest point is. Basically these parasites make the human body a war machine. It makes you the strongest possible thing you can be when combined with vampire venom." Caleb was next to me, clasping my hand tightly in his. I knew he understood why I felt so out of place and so…weird. We left after thanking Carlisle and talking about the hunting trip we would need to take this weekend for both Jasper and myself. I hadn't been hunting in around a month; Jasper's normal two weeks was drawing to a close.

Caleb and I walked slowly back to my room and I stood, backed up against the bed as he walked to me and kissed me quite passionately.

"What was that for?" I asked when he pulled away. I was biting my bottom lip like some love struck teenage girl. Oh…wait. I was one.

"I didn't get one today," he said, pressing closer to me. I smiled as his lips found my neck and I backed up, now sitting on the extreme edge of the bed, in that posture somewhere between sitting and standing. He took the opportunity to be closer to me and I spread my legs, him standing between them as I leaned back on my hands and he leaned forward. I grinned and then directed his lips to mine as we kissed for a few moments until both of us were far too out of breath for our own good. I smiled at him and he jumped up on the bed next to me and slumped against my pillows comfortably.

"You think if you tried hard enough you could fall asleep?" he asked me curiously.

"I donno," I said, shrugging.

"And now you have a pretty good chance of being able to have kids. Isn't that worth something to you?" he asked hopefully.

"I never liked babies much," I said, smiling at him. He propped my pillows up and sat up against them as I crawled towards him and laid with my head against his chest, my body in between his legs. He was a very comfortable pillow. I sighed and played with a string hanging off of my sleeve.

"Claire, treat this like a blessing like Carlisle told you you should. Don't be bummed about it," he said, playing with my hair.

"How can I not be? I was a freak just by being a vampire and now I'm a freak among them too. Where in the world do I belong?"

"In my arms, with me," he said softly, grabbing my hands in a restraining grip and kissing my fingertips.

"Aww, you're sweet," Claire said sarcastically, rolling her eyes.

"You're cynical," he said, pinching my cheek and laughing.

"You know me all too well, dear," I said, turning over so that my chin rested on his stomach. He smiled at me and leaned forward, kissing the top of my head. I groaned and rolled to my side, my eyes closing.

"What's wrong?" he asked, his hands instantly grasping my shoulders in defense of some unseen attacker.

"So thirsty," I admitted with a sigh. He shook his head and sat me up before kissing the tip of my nose. I crinkled it and smiled at him cutely.

"Then let's go get you a mid-month snack," he said with a grin.

"Are you sure you'll be okay?" I asked, pursing my lips.

"Why wouldn't I be?" he asked, shrugging his shoulders nonchalantly.

"Because, when you guys are in your wolfy forms you don't govern your bodies with your minds. And when my kind hunts we're the same way. We could kill each other," I said, nodding my head fervently. He sighed.

"Claire, you're better than your kind. I think you can handle it," he said, leaning down so that he was whispering in my ear. I shivered, smiling.

"I'm not that hungry," I said, trying to object. Mainly I didn't want him to get himself killed. It wasn't a concern for mankind or myself at all. I was worried about him.

"Yes you are, your eyes are violet. I like them better when they're bright and pretty blue like normal," he said, brushing my hair away from my face. I sighed, admitting defeat. He smiled and moved out from under me, holding out his hand as he slid off the bed. I took his hand and followed. Walking down the stairs, I refused to talk to him, mainly out of spite that he would do this to me, but by the time we got out the back door, I was okay again. I took off running instantly, letting go of his hand to follow my scent. I had no idea where I wanted to go, but where I ended up was perfect. The smell of wildflowers invaded my nose, their presence intoxicating. I flopped down in the cool grass of the meadow. I inhaled slowly and exhaled just at the same pace. I smile creased my lips as I heard footsteps nearby. I rolled on my stomach to stare at Caleb walking towards me. He smiled and held out his hand, pulling me to my feet. I smiled and leaped into his arms, smiling.

"Aww, how touching," came a voice from behind me. I released Caleb and pushed his body away from me as I spun on my heels to see Blake, the vampire who had tracked me at the school, the one who wanted to kidnap me or get rid of me. I bit my lip in anxiety. I had no one here to help me except for Caleb, and I didn't want him anywhere near a place where he could get hurt.

* * *

**A/N: Yes, I know there was a delay. But frankly, if you wanna be mean about it, then shove it. I've had four hour rehearsals every day after school, and a ton of homework so I have had virtually no writing time. To those who have waited patiently, thank you so much. Comments would be loved since it's been so long. And,. Yes, I know this is a rather short chapter. **


	10. Breaking Me

**A/N: Yeah...I know...I've disappeared off the face of the earth, but I came back, you know? So, don't be mad. And I know you must've suffered with how bad that cliffy was, so here's the resolution and you might not be happy about it.**

* * *

_run baby run  
don't ever look back  
they'll tear us apart  
if you give them the chance  
don't sell your heart  
don't say we're not meant to be  
run baby run  
forever will be  
you and me _

**We the Kings**_ - _Check Yes Juliet

* * *

I was taken aback. I looked around for some sort of escape, some way for Caleb to get out.

"We know you want answers," the stranger said. "The Volturi can give them to you. You're a rarity. You have withstood the powers that we have put up against you…we want to run a few tests. Come with us and your family, your loved ones," he said, looking at Caleb, "Will be safe."

"They'll be safe when the Volturi are dead too," I retorted, feeling the rays of sunlight begin to fuel through my body.

"You really think you can beat them?" he asked, sounding angry now.

"I thought you were just freelance," I said sharply. He glared at me and took a step forward, Caleb did so as well. I pushed him back though. "You're not getting hurt. Go and find my parents," I told him. He shook his head.

"You can outrun him, Claire," he said softly.

"But you can't. And if I carry you, you'll weigh me down and we won't outrun him. Just go get my family."

"Will you please stop? There was a reason I cornered you two here: I wanted you two alone. When I told them about the dog, they became extremely interested. They want you too," said Blake simply.

"You touch him and I'll rip the empty jugular from your throat," I threatened, baring my teeth.

"Fine, then we'll just take you. And if you don't cooperate, the agents we have at your mother's house and your grandfather's house will take care of making sure the Cullens never mess with us again," Blake said warningly. I could smell something familiar on the breeze then and my breath caught. "Oh, good, they'll be here soon," said Blake with a wicked smile. I looked around as a thirty or so vampires that I didn't recognize appeared. By their looks, they were wise, old. Two of them, who stood beside each other, looked no older than thirteen, and incredibly alike.

"Alec and Jane," I said through gritted teeth.

"And Demetri, Heidi, Caius, Marcus, and Felix, and a few others of our guard," Blake finished. I saw my father mixed in with the group and my mother not far from him, both being held against their wills, the more I looked, the more recognizable faces I saw. It was my whole family, but they couldn't fight back. "Think about it, their safety, answers for you, all you have to do is come with us."

I looked around and saw them. They could fight back, but I saw Jane…what the memories of my family members told of her. I saw Alec. I didn't even know what he could do, but his power was supposedly terrible to behold. I saw them all, and their frightening abilities. It scared me, and I wanted my family to be okay. I could see Emmett, looking like he was going to fight back, but he couldn't. Rosalie was a mess, not her normal beautiful self. Alice was worried, constantly looking at visions of the future as my choices changed over and over again. I didn't have much choice, did I?

My father looked at me then and shook his head.

No, I didn't have a choice at all. He knew what I would do to help my family. They meant everything to me, everything in the world, except Caleb, who was still by my side. But they would hurt him too if I didn't cooperate. I bit my bottom lip and a drop of blood oozed out.

"Fine, I'll go," I said, looking at Aro. He looked upset, betrayed. He looked like he was sorry for having to do this.

"If you break this deal, we will bring everyone here and exterminate your coven, understood?" asked Caius, walking towards me. His white hair was eerie. I glared at him, but nodded. "Go home…we'll pick you up to take you to the airport tomorrow. They can say goodbye if they want. But they will not be riding in the same car…well, Carlisle can, since we will ask him the questions about your creation."

"I didn't create her," said Carlisle, throwing one of the vampires off of him to enter the circle that had formed around me.

"Then who did? Some rogue?" asked Marcus as he looked from me to Caleb with a confused but apprehensive look. I could see Caleb's lip rising over his teeth very inconspicuously.

"No, I did," said my father, throwing the two restraining him off. I saw my mother try to get lose but fail as my father walked towards me and placed his hands on my shoulders. "So, you'll be talking to me," he said simply.

"But you know the uniqueness of her biological structure?" Caius presumed, glancing at Carlisle.

"I am a doctor, am I not?" Carlisle asked, sounding almost insulted.

"Fine, then both of them will come with us," said Caius, waving his hand as my family was released and the vampires escaped back into the forest. Caius, Marcus, and Aro glanced at me one more time.

"I'm sorry it had to come to this, Carlisle. We were once such great friends," said Aro before the three of them also departed, Jane and Alec walking beside them like guards.

I couldn't hold it in after that. I fell to the ground, only to be caught by Caleb, who supported me as I sat on the cold, moist earth. I cried. I actually cried. My family bent down and tried to soothe me, but all I wanted was to press my face further into Caleb's warm and comforting chest. I would have to leave him tomorrow.

"Carlisle," Caleb began, looking up at my grandfather. "Is there any way we can beat them if my pack, the La Push pack, and your family intercepts them at the airport."

"No…too many human lives would be at stake in a place like that. Plus, we couldn't ask that of Jacob again. He wouldn't want to help Claire or Edward, only Bella," Carlisle replied.

"Alice?" my mother asked, looking at my aunt.

"I don't know right now. It's not clear. It's shady, and it looks bad. But I can't really make out a thing. I think it's over. I think…there's no way for us to win."

"Why didn't you see this coming?" my father roared in anger. Alice looked like she would shrink back. Many of us would. But she just gave him a fierce glare that was enough to put my father back in his place.

"I can't believe this is happening," I whispered softly. I could feel Caleb's grip on me tighten as he tried to comfort me.

"Why didn't you know, Alice?" my mother asked, sounding more so curious than disapproving.

"They know me too well. I told Jasper weeks ago that I was getting memory flashes like I had with Victoria all those years ago. We thought it was just someone we knew who was facing a point in their life that was confusing. We assumed it had something to do with Claire…love is very confusing after all," Alice said, smiling at me. I couldn't help but smile back. I could tell Alice felt incredibly guilty.

"We should get back to the house and pack your things, Claire. You need to be ready first thing in the morning, and with them, goodness knows when that actually is," Esme said sadly. I would be gone from Esme too. That made it even more unbearable.

The last night I had with them passed all too fast. I didn't want it to end, and at the time, I got my things together to go to the airport. I was crying the entire time. The family had said they wouldn't come. My mother pitched a fit, trying to choke out her invisible tears and convince me otherwise. Esme was comforting. Alice…was confused. She couldn't find my future anywhere, and the stoic Jasper, he, for one of the first times in my life showed me his emotions, almost crying. He soothed me, though. Emmet was in a rage, as well, ranting and screaming and breaking things when I said goodbye to him. He was still under the impression he could destroy the Volturi single-handedly. Rosalie was calm, and yet I could see and hear in her thoughts just how upset she was.

"It was…great knowing you kid. I just wish…" she began, searcing for words.

"Yeah, me too," I said with a smile before we gave each other a hug, a real genuine hug. Rose was my aunt, and no matter how self-absorbed she could be, she cared about me more, and I knew that. I loved her for that.

Then came the time for us to load up into the car. I scarcely believed the night had passed that quickly.

"Claire, just calm down, it'll be okay. We'll bring you back. I promise," my father said as he hugged me as tightly as his stone muscles would allow. I felt him kiss the top of my head and another tear escaped me. It was weird, crying. I could see them all sobbing dry…but I was a flowing well. It felt wrong. I shuddered as Caleb got into the backseat next to me. I couldn't help it, I crawled right over to him and curled up next to him, resting my head on his chest, burying my face in his shirt as he kept his arm tightly around me. I shook sobbing. He whispered comforting words, kissed my hair, kissed the top of my head, kissed my fingertips, everything he could get a hold of but my lips. A kiss on the lips would be a goodbye kiss, and I knew he was coming to get me. I hoped he was at least.

"I love you," he would whisper over and over again. And in my hysterics, I could only nod. I shuddered against him as I felt the car stop.

"You don't have to do this," Carlisle said, turning in the seat to look at me. Carlisle, my father, and Caleb were the only ones who came in this car. The other got out and went inside the airport ahead of us. Caleb had to almost carry me in. He supported all my weight and I gripped him like he was my own life, my own soul, and it surprised me how much I knew it was true. I didn't care that he smelled like a wet dog or anything like that. I wouldn't see him for God only knows how long; all starting today. I shuddered at the thought and I held on to him even tighter.

"Please don't go," he said softly, leaning down to kiss the top of my head.

"I have to, if I don't they'll kill you or hunt you guys down," I said softly.

"We can fight, what about the plan with the other pack's help, we can do something," he said softly.

"And get hurt. I don't want that. I want answers and they'll give them to me. I won't break my promise to my father and grandfather, though, no blood, none. I swear it," I vowed, as Caleb slowly set me down and I embraced my father in a teary hug. I could see that he wished he could cry too, for once he wished he had that human weakness because there was no other way to express how he felt, and I knew that, I was in his head. I embraced Carlisle next and he smiled at me, a weepy and sorrowful smile. He was probably good at these goodbyes with how old he was. He didn't make it awkward and he shielded his thoughts from me with a Gregorian chant from back in his times. I smiled at him as he released me. I stepped back towards Caleb and he clutched my hand for dear life. Had I been moral, he'd have crushed it, but like this, it felt comfortable, soft, sweet.

We began walking towards the gates and security and baggage check when I saw them, and Caleb instinctively released my hand and I felt a shudder of rage go up his spine. I whipped around to face him, placing my hands on his chest.

"No, please, don't," I whispered softly. He looked down at me through his beautiful eyes and touched my soft hair before nodding, without a smile, without any sign of happiness.

"So, is she ready?" Jane asked, skipping forward. I could see my father's face tighten as he looked at the little menace blood-sucking child.

"Yes," came my father's strained voice.

"Alright then, Claire, you ready?" Jane asked, looking at me as I saw two members come and take my bag with them towards the gates and security.

"I…I guess so," I said, frantically gripping Caleb's hand as I felt tears rising in my face again. Jane looked at Carlisle.

"Your log," she said expectantly. Carlisle sighed and handed the folder I hadn't noticed he held to Jane. She opened it and scanned through it, smiling. From what I could tell was going on in her head, it was the log of the days I was created and an entry every few months after that. Jane smiled, looking up at Carlisle. "She'll be such a wonderful addition to the guard," Jane said excitedly. "And we'll be best friends."

My eyes widened. I hadn't suspected, even with my abilities, that being part of the guard was what they wanted me for. I thought it had been for pursuit of knowledge and learning about what I could do. What was this new idea? I took a step backwards into Caleb's arms and Jane stepped forward towards me. Caleb's lip rose over his canine teeth as she did and she stepped back again.

"Whatever, call off your dog so we can leave," Jane said with a smirk. I turned around and looked at Caleb, more tears than I had ever had before began spilling out of my face. I shook my head frantically as he pulled me to his chest and kissed the top of my head. I knew the goodbye kiss was coming now as he tilted my face up to his and pressed his warm lips to my frigid ones. The kiss was perfect, deep, and more than anything, melancholy. But I loved it because I loved him. His hands stayed on my cheeks while mine pressed against his muscled chest. I loved him, perfectly and truly, and I knew he would come and get me, eventually. He would save me. I knew he would.

* * *

**A/N: sorry about how long that took, I'm pathetic I know. I got working on another story and this one just fell behind, but I'm with it again, no worries. So, ****review, read, refer**** people, ****haha****. I hope you like this incredible plot twist here!!**


	11. Caged

**A/N: Alright, well, if you guys don't review, I'll stop posting, you understand that right? The last chapter was to see if I still had readers, but I'm giving one more chance. So, less than five reviews and it's done, kay?**

* * *

_What if tomorrow never comes  
How will I know you loved me?  
I just need something to live for  
So I'll never die again.  
What if tomorrow never comes  
How will I know you loved me?  
I just need something to live for  
So I'll never die again. Again. _

**Chiodos**_ – _Hathaway Lane

* * *

As I was dragged past security, I took the last look at my family. The plane ride was hell. I kept my eyes closed the entire time, the headphones for my iPod pressed into my ears as I ignored the vampire seated next to me. I knew it had been done on purpose. He was my age, insanely attractive, perfect in every way. But he didn't smell like wet dog and warmth didn't radiate from his body. And his eyes were red. His shaggy dark brown hair was something foreign and unattractive to me now. His perfect body was too pale. In short, he wasn't Caleb. They wouldn't choose my mate to make me stay here. My love was in Forks, and, as the plane landed in Italy and he carried my bags for me and placed his hand on the small of my back, guiding me off of the plane and to the cars. Our only accompaniment at the moment was Jane. As we loaded into the car, in the back seat, I saw another of their kind…my kind, as the driver.

Once more, it was headphones shoved into my ears the entire time. When we got into Volterra, I couldn't help but take in the Tuscan beauty all around me. It was too riveting, but I remained stoic, unresponsive. Maybe I would die of heartache. Everything around me reminded me of Forks, and everything that made me think of Forks made me think of Caleb.

They finally pulled in at the visitors entrance, as the day was rather cloudy. The escort I had been given gripped my arm firmly and pulled me in, and then the smell of human blood hit my nose like a wrecking ball. I wanted to puke. The only time I'd craved it was in my dizziest and blindest of hunger. I leaned against the wall, feeling slightly disoriented as this odd boy continued to pull on my arm. Jane glared at me threateningly, not using her odd ability, and I continued, needing some help to support myself.

"Sorry, there's a small feast going on in there, right now. I find it appetizing. Would you like a taste, Claire?" she asked.

"You're despicable," I said through gritted teeth as the red fog around me made me feel completely outside my body.

"You'll see things our way when you begin to starve and need it," came a voice from a doorway nearby. Alec, I figured, was the one walking forward who embraced small Jane in a sibling-like hug. I rolled my eyes, they were just children. "So, Claire, how do you find our home to your liking?" he asked, gesturing around himself at the plain and ordinary hall we stood in, walls bare except for a small bar at the end.

"I don't," I hissed. He only smiled genially, adjusting the collar of the suit he was wearing before nodding to the boy who held me by the arm. "Well, I hope you enjoy your living arrangements as much as you like our home," Alec said. His voice wasn't menacing, but held an undercurrent of smugness. We went through doors and hallways as I began to notice how Medieval this place was beginning to look. After a while a door was opened and I was shoved into one of the rooms.

It was incredibly random, not Medieval at all, but it looked like a laboratory. The white tiled floors reminded me of something in a science fiction movies as they seemed to glow with a light underneath. The walls were the same, as was the ceiling. The boy ushered me to a gurney and, without giving me any warning, placed me on top of it and strapped me down. Though I tried breaking the bonds that held me, I couldn't. Where was Emmet when I needed him?

Out of anger, I hissed at him and tried to snap at him as he leaned down to place a needle into my forearm. I winced in pain. Nothing had ever penetrated my skin before, not that I could remember. I felt a coolness wash through me as I noticed my blood being extracted. I glared at him.

"What are you doing to me?" I asked, eyes narrowed.

"What we brought you here for," he said in a smooth voice. "Listen, I'm sorry this is how it has to be, but we have keep you in here all the time. I'll be back in about ten minutes with Aro when we've gotten enough of your blood."

"Just kill me, I feel dead right now anyway," I hissed.

"I can't. I'd be killed for doing that. You're the newest addition to the Volturi guard, but you need to be trained first. Once we figure out what makes you tick, exactly, then your training and…mental readjustments can begin. You won't be leaving us for a very, very long time," he said before walking out. I watched as the needle in my arm transmitted my blood to a large bag, the kind used when people donate blood. I whimpered loudly.

This was awful. This was torture. I'd never had anything poking through my skin and it hurt so badly. I wanted to break the bonds holding me down to this gurney, but I couldn't. I was too weak, too human. My anger was causing all the lights in the room to flicker and then I remembered my abilities. The bag in which my blood was being transported was even glowing. They were still mentally connected to me. I focused and then all the lights in the building went out, the power went out, and the locks to the bonds on the gurney clicked off and I rose from where I sat, yanking the needle out of my arm. I glanced at the bag with my blood in it. What could I do now? They had it. I ran for it, smashing doors as I went and tried to find an exit.

Everywhere I turned in the darkness there was someone, and the power I'd absorbed from the entire building definitely helped me. Blinding them was fun. I finally made it to the front door before I fell to the ground, feeling a hand on my ankle as I was pulled back. I writhed and squirmed, absorbing power and shooting bursts of energy at him, but nothing would make Caius let go of me.

"Clarissa, Clarissa. I see things are going to be more difficult than we anticipated with you. I thought you said you'd cooperate in order to keep your family safe," Caius said, extracting a small cell phone from his robe. I bit my lip and stopped my squirming. I released the absorbed energy as the building lit up again. "That's a girl. Now, what can we do to make it so that you won't try anything again?"

"Actually give me a nice place to stay," I said under my breath.

"What do you mean by that? I thought you'd like the lab," he said with a smirk. "Oh well, we have enough of your blood anyway. Jason, take her to her bedroom," Caius hissed as the boy from before placed his hand on the small of my back, guiding me, once more, through corridors, doors, and halls until he opened the door to a room. The walls, floor, and ceiling were all white. There was a queen-sized bed in it and a radio the size of the one my father had at Carlisle's house. It was perfect. Anything I could ever want in a bedroom was here. It was huge, and rows of paints and markers sat on the floor.

"What is this?" I asked, shaking my head.

"Aro knew exactly what you wanted. Now in you go. You're to stay in here until tonight. We'll send someone to fetch you. Knock yourself out, the TV has a great picture," he said, tossing me a remote. I caught it easily, slightly shocked and slightly pissed as the lights in the room only began to flicker. I controlled it though, and they lit back up. I stared at the television with the big screen and DVD player. I saw about fifty horror movie DVDs in the cabinet with about a hundred books. I threw the remote at the bed before walking to the markers on the floor and beginning to write all over my walls. Words to get out my emotions. It had been something I'd longed for since my change.

I was angry a lot. My mother almost killed me when I wrote on the walls in my room the first time. Sharp words were the style now. When I had finished with that, after about an hour and a ton of sharpie marks on my hand later, I went to get a piece of paper and a pencil, sitting at the desk I had been given. I sketched a picture, not really knowing what I was sketching until I noticed the soft gray eyes, the light hair, the perfect tanned skin, the beautiful face. I broke down then, seeing his face on paper. Tears flooded my eyes and I fell from the chair, gripping myself and trying to hold onto the sanity I had left.

Slowly, I crawled to the bed and laid down, letting my tears be the thing to put me to sleep.

----------Meanwhile in Forks---------

"How do we get her back?" Caleb asked Bella with a glare as he paced the floor of the Cullen living room.

"Caleb, you need to calm down," Edward demanded, though he was angry too, he wasn't as vindictive as Caleb was. It was a werewolf thing. Caleb shot him a glare and Edward moved so fast he was unseeable. He had Caleb pinned against a wall by his neck. "Your anger could get my family killed. Wait until we're near an enemy to lose your temper, pup. And keep in mind that I love Claire too. Do well to remember that we all do." Edward dropped Caleb then before dropping back into the chair he had been in only a few moments before. The room was silent as Caleb coughed a second and sat down on the couch.

"So, I've tracked her. She's definitely in Volterra now, in their castle," Carlisle said, emerging on the scene.

"How do you know?" Edward asked, tilting his head to the side as Bella placed her arms around him from where she stood behind the chair.

"Rolling blackouts all over the city about every ten minutes. She's angry. She's really, really angry. I can guarantee she doesn't even know she's doing it. The entire city is getting power surges like nothing the world has ever seen. It will become a big deal if we don't hurry up and take care of our Claire. She's gonna kill herself in the process…she's absorbing too much energy without even knowing it."

"Then let's go," Emmet said, standing up. Rosalie looked just as prepared to fight for her niece as well. Caleb's expression as he stood was one of defiance, no longer anger.

"We're going to save her. But the problem is…Alice has seen the way they will be keeping her if she doesn't stop her waves of attack," Edward said softly, his voice pained as he thought about it.

"What's wrong?" Caleb asked, eyes wide.

"She's in a cage, a needle in her arm collecting more blood than she can afford to give without passing out. She's in pain, slowly dying. Once they're done testing her, they'll try and brainwash her. She's starving herself in refusal of what they give her to eat: human blood. They'll try and turn her into one of the guard if she survives all that testing. And then she'll be lost to us," Edward said sadly.

"So we need to act now," Emmet said again.

"Alice, what are the Volturi going to do if we go now," Jasper asked as he sat next to his love. Alice sighed and took control of her visions again.

"They will try and kill us. We'd have to bring the wolves along. There'd be no way to do it without them. Even with their help it would be an incredible stretch to survive it. But we can," she said in a whisper.

"I'll go down to La Push," said Keira, who had remained silent the entire time. Her pack had decided it would be best to stay outside when there were vampires around. She immediately walked out of the house and changed, dashing into the forest, followed by the rest of her pack except Caleb.

Time went by before Keira returned, wearing only a towel around herself.

"They said they'd help if it's for a fellow pack. They understand Caleb's need to save her. He imprinted…she cannot be kept away from him. It's against all forms of nature," Keira said. "They already got us all tickets for the first flight out to Italy available."

"Thank God," Caleb said, massaging his temples as he leaned forward where he sat. He was overwhelmed and everyone could tell. "Keira, go home and get the things packed. I'll help the Cullens here. Take the rest of the pack with you. We'll meet at the airport in an hour." She nodded before leaving, this time getting to the treeline before she changed and the pack followed her out.

"We'll get her back, Caleb," Bella said in a soft voice. "Somehow, she'll be safe in our arms soon. We won't let our baby girl become an experiment."

"I know. I'm scared for her though. She won't know how to relax in that environment. She'll kill others, she could even kill herself," Caleb whispered. "I can see her now, laying on a bed in tears as she tried to calm down and tries to sleep. She misses us, I know that. She did it for us, and now she wishes she hadn't because of us," Caleb said softly.

"I'm sure she misses you the most, Caleb," Edward said. Caleb sighed and looked out a window, staring at Forks. Who would have thought when they came here he would find this overwhelmingly perfect girl? And now she was dying and he had to save her. After about thirty minutes of packing, everyone loaded into two cars, Caleb going in his car by himself to the airport where they all met.

The plane for Claire had left almost a day ago by now. She had arrived only about three hours before. They were in for a long and anxious flight.

* * *

**A/N: Alright, short, I know. I've got a ton going on right now and I rarely even have time to write with these honors classes biting my ass. So, review please. I didn't get many on the last chapter. If I don't get a good amount, I'm likely to discontinue the story. So, you should review . **


End file.
